Heartaches Over A Friend
by SweetStories11
Summary: Ash May Brock head to Lilycove City as Ash is troubled with the thought of an old friend and May is troubled with the thought of a new one. When they reach the city they are suprised by an old friend and then strange things happen AAML and MayD
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or anything related to it.

A/N: I posted this fic in the wrong place because I didn't know that Pokemon was categorized here, but since I found it, I'm going to post it here now ) Hope you like it! And please R&R!

Chapter 1

It was a perfect day. The sky was cloudless, the sun was warm, and the breeze was just cool enough to make the day look promising. Ash, May, Brock and Pikachu had just woken up and were headed toward Lilycove City. May insisted on going shopping and to go see the pokemon contests. Of course, she was the first one to get up and started to wake up everyone. First up was Ash who was still asleep with Pikachu in his sleeping bag.

"May…wha…what are you doing up so early?" asked Ash as he yawned.

"Well get up silly! Don't you know that we have to get to Lilycove as soon as possible? I've waited all my life to go there! All of the shops, and sites to see!"

She sighed looking up at the sky dreamily, and then she looked back at Ash.

"We're only a couple days of hiking away and the more daytime we get, the faster we'll get there!" said May excitedly.

"Well, I don't see why I can't just sleep for…for…"

And with that Ash was sleeping again. May sighed and looked at Pikachu expectantly. He would sometimes wake Ash up with a jolt of a thunder shock but today Pikachu just yawned and crawled back into Ash's sleeping bag. That was it for May. She sighed and stomped over to the stream that was flowing near their campsite. She took a jar and filled it with the icy cold water that was in the stream and stomped right back to find a snoring Ash. She smirked and poured the water on his head.

"AHHHH! MAY!" Ash became more awake than he had ever been and then he looked at himself and his wet shirt. He started fussing over himself and went to get a towel so he could dry off.

May chuckled at Ash's defeat and called after him, "Now you don't have to take a shower, so that means… we'll get there even faster!"

She chuckled again, but that was cut short when she looked at Pikachu. He was looking at her as if she had just hurt Ash.

"Pikachu don't give me that look…I just did it so he would wake up…"

Her smirk turned into a frown because she never got that kind of a look from Pikachu before. But that suddenly went to the back of her mind as Ash came back. He headed toward his sleeping bag to clear his things up and Pikachu jumped up on his shoulder.

"May, that wasn't a nice way to wake me up…next time could you possibly think about someone besides yourself? Just a little? I know you want to go to Lilycove, but we also need our sleep if we ever want to get there."

He looked at her and gave her something that seemed like a smile, but it really wasn't.

"We should go eat; I already smell Brock's cooking from here. Let's go."

May smiled and gave a little chuckle as her stomach grumbled. They walked to see Brock enjoying himself at his portable stove. He was smiling, as always, cooking in his apron.

"Hey guys! For today we will be serving Brock's famous oatmeal. Yes, my famous oatmeal. Nothing beats it, so eat up!"

"Brock, if your oatmeal is so famous what makes it different than everyone else's?" asked May curiously.

"Well that's an easy one," said Ash, "its different and special because he labeled it as his! It's _Brock's_ oatmeal; it's not just ordinary oatmeal. Yup, you are eating _Brock's_ oatmeal, it's very rare and uncommon and that is why it's famous!" replied Ash with laughter.

Ash and May started to laugh and soon enough Brock had had enough.

"Oh, well…you just try it! See then what you think! Hmph…"

He folded his arms and waited for them to try his delicious breakfast. They stopped laughing and tried _Brock's_ oatmeal. It turned out to be pretty good; but of course it was; it was Brock's cooking.

"Brock, this is so delicious!" said May.

"HA! I knew it! No one can deny that it should be famous, right Ash?" Brock smirked and looked to Ash for a comeback.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's great…now can we go?"

Ash got up and went back to get his things. May and Brock looked at each other with worried expressions on their faces. They both thought that something was up with Ash, and it came so suddenly that they didn't know what it was. May had gotten up too and started to run after Ash. Brock shrugged his shoulders and said to himself, "Oh, so they love my cooking but they don't care to finish it…hmph…"

Pikachu was still there but Brock hadn't noticed.

"Pika!"

"OH, Pikachu, you startled me! … Ok, ok, I'll clean up and go after those two."

Pikachu smiled and started to dash off somewhere.

"Ash…Ash, are you okay?" asked May with a worried tone in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He was almost done packing his stuff. He found his hat and put it on. "You should get your stuff if you want to get going."

"Ash…umm…was it something I said?"

He looked at her and his eyes widen a bit, but as quickly as he did that, they became normal and he said, "No, no it's nothing. I just want to get going, that's all." He left her just standing there with the most confused look on her face. Didn't he just say that they should rest before going? She shook her head and started to pack.

It was sometime before the group had actually left the campsite because Ash was looking everywhere for Pikachu. That's at least what he had said to May and Brock. When Ash got back to Brock, he saw that Brock had gotten everything ready to go.

"Good. You got everything ready. We should go soon."

Ash tried to smile and then he just sighed. He looked away at had a dazed looked on his face, as if he was thinking about something totally different. At that point Brock asked him, "Ash, is everything alright with you? You got so sad and defensive all of a sudden."

"NO! EVERYTHING IS FINE! WHY DO GUYS KEEP ASKING ME THAT?" Ash yelled back at Brock. He was taken aback by Ash's response. Ash had never been like this before. Ash realized that too and said, "Sorry Brock. I don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe when we get to a new city I'll feel better." Brock's expression returned back to normal and he smiled at Ash.

"I'm sure it will be. Oh! Hey Ash!"

"Yeah Brock?"

"Pikachu ran off somewhere a while ago, you should go get him."

"Thanks. We'll be back soon. Oh, and since your done with your things, can you help May get ready to go? She has so much stuff…" Ash sighed and started to head deeper into the forest. A few minutes hadn't even passed by before he had found his friend. Pikachu ran up to Ash and jumped into his arms.

"Pika Pika!"

Ash smiled and sat down on a tree stump. He looked up at the cloudless sky and lost himself in his thoughts. Before he knew it twenty minutes had passed by and he jumped up. The two ran back to the campsite thinking that May and Brock would have gone looking for them and that would delay their journey even longer. When Ash and Pikachu got back to the campsite it was empty, except for Brock and May, who were trying tirelessly to get all of May's stuff into one bag. Ash put his hand on a tree and started to catch his breath so that he could talk.

"Guys, are you still working? Didn't you realize how long I was gone?"

Brock and May had looked at him and then back at the bag. They gave one final effort and the bag zipped close. Now it was their turn to catch their breath. Brock looked at him and said, "No, I guess we didn't. But since your back and we've got everything closed up, we should start getting a move on!"

For the first time since breakfast, Ash smiled and sighed with relief, "Good! Good. Let's go then."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

They were walking along a path and everyone seemed quiet. The morning's events had some sort of effect on the each of them. They were all thinking to themselves, not saying a word and not looking at one another. May's spirit was dampened; she didn't really care anymore about going to Lilycove as much as before. Instead, she was thinking about how Ash had reacted to what she said. It was right after she commented on Brock's cooking that he got quiet, and she couldn't understand what could have made him so different. She kept on wondering about him and if he was okay. She would glance at him sometimes and see that he still had that kind of dazed look on his face. He was definitely thinking about something, but she just couldn't figure out what it was. They kept walking, but then May had asked herself a new question. Why was she all of a sudden worrying about Ash so much? She shook off this thought and looked up ahead. As she did this Pikachu started to run ahead of the group. The three looked at each other and started to run after him. They finally caught up to Pikachu, who was looking at a sign.

"Pikachu, what did you do that for?" asked Ash. Just then he looked at the sign in front of him. "PIKA PIKA!"

"It says…'Lilycove City- 15 miles'…Yay! We're almost there!" exclaimed May.

"Boy, that's definitely some good news right there! Oh man! Guys! We've been so busy walking that we forgot to look at the time!" said Brock.

"Brock, you're right! It's already around 4 o'clock and we haven't even eaten since breakfast," said Ash.

May's stomach grumbled again and all of them laughed. The tension between the group eased up and they stopped in a meadow for a quick lunch. After some sandwiches, they started walking along the path again, all of them in a much better mood. Pikachu was the one that responsible for that. As they would walk along, Pikachu would occasionally run up a tree and throw an apple at Brock, and then he would get mad while Ash and May laughed at him. Of course, after a while Ash told Pikachu to stop, just out of pity for the lump on Brock's head. They walked for a couple more hours and came upon another sign. May was the one to read it out loud again.

"Lilycove City- 5 miles. Let's get there tonight guys!"

"May, it's only five miles, what difference does it make if we get there tomorrow?" said Brock. "Besides, I don't know about you, but I'm tired and want some sleep!"

They didn't have to argue about it for long because Ash was already getting out his sleeping bag. He looked at them, smiled and said innocently, "What? I'm just doing what Brock said to do." May looked from Ash to Brock and she just gave in. It was getting dark and she didn't want to have to walk at night. The three of them started a little campfire because the night air was a bit chilly. Each of them got comfortable in their own sleeping bags and they started to doze off.

"Goodnight Brock…goodnight Ash…" said May.

Brock was on the other side of the fire so she couldn't really hear if he said anything back but she looked to see if Ash would have said something. As she did, she saw Pikachu looking at her again with that look he gave her in the morning when she woke up Ash. She couldn't even begin to understand what was wrong with Pikachu, he was just so distant from her and it seemed like he was really angry with her. So she said in a quiet tone, "Goodnight Pikachu."

Ash opened his eyes slightly and yawned. "Night…"

He closed his eyes and turned around to face away from her. She was shocked at this. It was so abrupt; it was as if he didn't even want to have anything do with her at all. May wondered about Ash's behavior for a long time. It seemed like forever. She just lay awake looking at the stars. Thinking about him this much bothered her a lot; she hadn't felt like this before. After looking at the sky for what seemed like hours, it finally dawned on her that she was most likely developing a crush on Ash. Why else would she have bothered so much about him? Every second he was on her mind and it could mean nothing else. She came to understand this sometime after she said goodnight and she looked at him again. Ash was sleeping peacefully, along with Pikachu and Brock. May's thoughts stopped her from falling asleep so she just sat up and looked into the dying firelight. After a couple of minutes, it finally died out and the campsite was completely dark except for the moonlight. It was so peaceful, but then May jumped when out of the blue, Ash had turned abruptly in his sleep to face her. She looked at him and saw that his face was in anguish. She got really worried and whispered,

"Ash? … Ash? Are you okay? Ash?"

He stirred at the sound of her voice and said in his sleep, "I'm…sorry…really…I tried…Mis…Misty…"

His voice faded and then after a couple of minutes his expression became calm. It had looked like he had a bad dream, or something along the lines of that. Ash was still sleeping and his face looked as angelic as a baby's. What Ash had said was really surprising to May. She had never heard Ash say anything in his sleep, but it explained a lot. Well, not that much, but she finally figured out the reason why he was always so sad. It seemed, from what he said, that he had done something to someone named Misty, or that something happened to this Misty and he blamed himself. Yes. That was it. It had to be. That was so sweet, he was worried about someone. It was just like him to do that. She laid back down in her sleeping bag and gazed at the stars one more time. Her eyes began to get tired, and finally she fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next morning, Ash was the first one to get up. When he saw that May and Brock were still sleeping he chuckled to himself.

"Pikachu," he whispered, "I guess this time we are the ones who are excited about going to Lilycove, aren't we?"

"Pi-Pika-Pi!"

Pikachu smiled and sensed that Ash was in a better mood. Ash went to go wake up Brock, but when he got to him, Brock was already waking up himself.

Brock yawned, "Ash, what time is it?"

"It's around seven o'clock, shouldn't you start making your traditional morning breakfast for us?" He asked teasingly.

"Yeah, yeah, but I don't feel like doing anything special today because we'll soon be in Lilycove, so I'll just make some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."

He got up and stretched. Brock looked over to May and said to Ash, "Guess she still needs her beauty sleep, huh?"

The two of them started to laugh a little, but hushed when Pikachu came up to her with a pile of grass and put it under her nose. They waited and saw that May began to crinkle her nose. Soon enough, she sneezed and woke up to find a bunch of pulled grass on her face. Brock, Ash, and Pikachu burst out in laughter. May angrily waved off the grass and glared at the three.

"Who did that?" she yelled.

Ash and Brock shook their heads and said, "Not me." She didn't bother to question them further and got up. "I'll be by the stream if anyone needs me." She marched off as the sun began to appear over the trees in the forest. Ash and Brock exchanged one last subtle laugh and they sighed.

"Ash, it looks like you're in a much better mood."

"Yeah, I guess I am."

Ash looked away for a second, and it seemed as if he was going to be sad again, but instead he sighed and smiled. He looked back at Brock and said, "So Mr. Brock, how about we get started on your famous peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."

Brock chuckled and replied, "Yeah, we should." And with that they went to go get started with breakfast.

May came back all washed up and with a big smile on her face.

"So Brock! What are we eating for today?" she asked enthusiastically.

He went over to her and smiled. As he handed her the sandwich he said, "My famous peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!" May took the sandwich and looked glumly at it.

"Oh," she took a bite but after a while she smiled again. Her mouth was full of peanut butter and when she spoke, all of the words sounded like gibberish.

"Dis isso goo!" she said and smiled again. May quickly took another bite and ate the sandwich hungrily. She gulped it down and when her mouth wasn't full of the sticky stuff, she asked for another one. Brock just smiled.

"Sure!" Ash looked at her and laughed to himself. She looked like she was a five year old.

It took them a lot less time to get going that morning. That was probably because they were so close to a new city and they hadn't been around other people beside themselves for a long time. They walked for a while until they spotted another sign up ahead. All four of them ran up to the sign with Ash leading the way. He got there first but when he read the sign his smile turned sullen. When May caught up she looked at Ash and was a bit confused, but she went ahead and read the sign out loud as always.

"Welcome to Lilycove City! – 'Where the land ends and the sea begins'" _quote taken from sign in Lilycove City in Pokemon Ruby Version_

"The sea…" whispered Ash to himself.

"This city sounds like so much fun!" squealed May. "Come on! What are we waiting for?"

She grabbed Ash with one hand and Brock with the other. She was dragging them for a couple of steps until the two caught up to her and she let go. She did that partially because they caught up to her, but also because she stood in place gaping at all of the shops on the street. May started going to each one asking about this and that. Time was passing by as Ash, Pikachu and Brock were getting fed up with her obsession with shopping. After about an hour and a half, Ash couldn't take it anymore and dragged her from one of the shops. She looked sad as she was brought back into the street, but smiled slightly as Ash touched her arm.

"Ashhh, I wanted to buy thattt," she said in a whiny voice.

"May, there are more important things than shopping, you know, like, oh I don't know, getting our pokemon to the Pokemon Center so they could get a proper rest?"

She frowned and looked back at the shop. Finally she said, "Okay, your right. Let's go."

When they arrived at the center, Ash was the first one to give his pokemon to Nurse Joy. Brock was just standing there drooling and staring at her. May went off somewhere to look at the brochures and maps that the center had of the city.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center. Would you like to rest your Pokemon?" _also taken from Pokemon Ruby Version_

"Yes, thank you. I think they would definitely like some rest," said Ash.

"Okay then," said Nurse Joy happily, "What is your name please?"

"My name is Ash Ketchum and I'm from Pallet Town."

"Okay, thank you Ash. Your Pokemon will be rested soon." Ash started to walk away but he had to turn around because he remembered that Brock was still standing at the counter.

"COME ON BROCK!" He tried to pull him away but Brock was resisting.

"OH! Ash! You have a message from someone. Take this and punch the numbers on the phone over there." Nurse Joy pointed to an empty telephone in a corner of the center. He took the sheet of paper and went to go see who sent him a message.

Brock stopped drooling and said, "Nurse Joy do you know that you're the most beautiful person on the whole planet?" He took her hands in his and starred into her eyes. She gave a little smile and said, "Um, that's very nice of you to say, but I have to go take care of the Pokemon." She freed her hands and left him by himself to pout.

In the corner Ash punched in the numbers and tapped his fingers on the desk as he waited for the message to load. He had gotten really bored until he looked back at the screen. His smile widened and he got really happy. It was Misty.

"Hey Ash! Hey Pikachu! Hey Brock!" she said cheerfully.

Ash looked over to see where Brock was and yelled across the room to him, "Hey Brock! Come over here quick! It's Misty!" Brock smiled and jogged slightly to see the message.

"I hope you guys are having a great time in the Hoenn region! A friend of mine told me that there was a city there that had a lot of water pokemon trainers and that there was supposed to be some sort of convention there. I think it was Lilycove City, but anyway, so I decided that I would go take a ship over there! If you guys want, we could meet up and catch up!"

She laughed and then smiled.

"I'll be in Lilycove City in a couple of days so watch out for me! Oh, and Brock? Can you make sure Ash doesn't get in any kind of trouble like he usually does?" Ash's smile turned into a frown and he got mad, but just for a second, because he then started to laugh with Brock and Pikachu. "Well I'll be seeing you soon! Bye!"

The screen went blank and Brock said to Ash, "Boy, it'll sure be nice to see her again!" Ash sighed and smiled, "Yeah, it sure will be." Just then Nurse Joy passed by and Brock went right after her. Ash chuckled to himself. He was just sitting there looking at the blank screen. He sighed again, but then suddenly he jumped because the screen turned back on and there was Misty again.

"Oh, and Ash, if Brock can't stop you, you know I can." Misty smiled and winked at him. Then she waved and the screen went blank again.

Pikachu jumped up on Ash's shoulder.

"Pi-Pikachu!"

"Yeah Pikachu, I'm happy too."

Just then May popped up with a ton of brochures and asked with a puzzled expression, "Why are you and Pikachu so happy?"

"Because we're in Lilycove City of course…" Ash got up and punched his fist in the air triumphantly.

"Okay," she chuckled at his dramatic change in mood, "I'm happy we're here too." As she was walking away she said to herself, "Now where could Brock have gone?"

Ash made sure she was out of sight and he rolled his eyes with a sigh of relief. He wanted to be the one to find Misty first. He hadn't seen her in so long and he really wanted to see her.

"So Pikachu? Where do you think she would be in this city?"

Pikachu looked up at him and shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, I wouldn't know either… but I know for a fact that she wouldn't be out shopping! No, she'd probably be by the beach with her pokemon. Let's go Pikachu!"

Pikachu perked up his ears and smiled. Ash chuckled and stopped by the front desk to pick up his pokemon. They stepped outside and began to look for her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lilycove City was full of people and their pokemon. Ash saw them everywhere. It was like an invasion of water pokemon and their trainers; there were Horseas, Seals, Seakings, Corsolas, Azumarils, and more. It was so packed that he thought he'd never find Misty within so many people. He had only one choice to get around the chaos and that was go to the street with the shops. He didn't want to, but it was the only way.

Ash had tried to move through the street as quickly as possible because he didn't want the to meet up with Brock or May. He was rushing when Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and ran up to a small booth that was hidden among the many shops in the street. Ash ran after him and when he got there he picked up Pikachu.

"Pikachu, why did you do that? You know we don't have time to shop."

All Pikachu did was point at the display. Ash looked and peered at it curiously…

After awhile, Ash and Pikachu had finally gotten around the crowd of people and through the street. It just so happened that they ended up right back at the Pokemon Center, but that was a good thing because Ash had remembered that he forgot to reserve a room for him and his friends. At the front desk Ash asked to book a room. While he was waiting, he grew anxious because he had to put away something in his room and he didn't want May and Brock to see what it was. Then all of a sudden he jumped because someone had tapped him on the shoulder.

"AHHH… uh…MAY! Umm, what are you doing here?"

"Me? I would ask you the same thing! And what is that in the bag?"

Ash squirmed as he tried to figure out something to say.

"Wait a minute…did you go… shopping!"

"NO! No, I just, I just got some medicine for the Pokemon in case we'll need it later or something…yeah, that's what I got."

"Oh…well then what are you still doing at the front desk?" asked May suspiciously.

"I was getting us a room…that's all," he said coolly.

"Well I already got us a room. Here's your key." She handed the key to him and smiled.

"Wow, you actually thought about something besides shopping. That's a first, but also impressive."

He chuckled and went to go find their room. May watched him leave and thought to herself excitedly. He was actually impressed with me! Maybe he feels the same way…Oh I wish Max was still with us, it feels like I'm alone without my little brother here to keep me sane… _Max had stayed at a Weather Institution to learn more about the research they were doing with the Pokemon and the weather there_. Her thoughts drifted off and she went to go get Brock and Ash.

Ash found the room and hid the bag in a spot where the other two wouldn't be able to find it. His lie actually worked but he had still not found Misty. He wondered why she wasn't there still, but he also thought about all of the water pokemon trainers. Maybe they were here for the same reason as Misty. But if that was so, then why wasn't she with them? He stopped thinking about this because just then May and Brock came into the room.

"Ash what are you doing? Let's go!" begged May.

"Okay, okay. Come on Pikachu let's go."

Ash was the last one out of the room so he looked one more time at it and then closed the door behind him.

Outside, the chaos had quieted down a bit and the trainers were beginning to head off somewhere else. Ash thought that it was strange, but his attention was brought back to May because she was squealing again.

"Oh you guys! Look! There it is! The Lilycove Department Store!"

Ash and Brock looked at the huge building she was pointing at and saw that it was in fact the Department Store. It was a bit of a walk to get there and Ash groaned as facing another shopping experience was giving him chills.

"Do we have to go now? How about we go later? I just…umm… I just want to get some decent food first!" said Ash. He would do anything to get out of shopping. It was becoming a form of art to get May away from shopping and he was good at it. She sighed and agreed that she too wanted some food.

Brock pointed over by the store and said, "Hey look! There's an outside restaurant close to the store! At least it's closer." He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Ash. Ash sighed and said okay.

They sat down outside and waited for the waiter to bring them the food. All of them were in a cheerful mood except for Ash. It looked like he was irritated. He kept looking everywhere. As if something were going to attack him. He saw that there was a small group of water pokemon trainers gathering around a hotel near the restaurant and it seemed as if they wanted to see someone. He didn't understand what was going on but then May interrupted his thoughts.

"Yo, Ashhh? You there?"

"Oh yeah, yeah. When's our food coming? I'm starved."

"Hmm I don't know but I'd just wish it come soon so we could go shopping…"

Ash rolled his eyes and looked away. May saw this and began to worry. He probably thought that all she cared about was shopping, well she did, but she didn't want Ash to think of her like that. "Well, we don't have to go shopping just now…we could…oh yeah! I know we could go watch a Pokemon Contest. I heard that Lilycove is where the Master competition is held!" Ash looked somewhat interested and May smiled. She knew he couldn't help liking something that had to do with Pokemon.

"Oh yeah! We should go do that!" said Brock, "what do you think Ash?"

"Actually that sounds like a pretty good idea!"

The three were now all smiling but Ash had zoned out again. This time however, he seemed happy. He sat there leaning his head on his hand. His other hand was twirling the straw in his drink around in circles. May just looked at him, puzzled to why he was so happy all of a sudden. She thought that maybe he was thinking about her, but her thoughts stopped as she and the rest of them at the table heard someone yell. It came from the hotel that Ash saw earlier. The whole group was looking at the Department Store and one of the trainers pointed.

"LOOK! THERE SHE IS! IT'S THE WATER POKEMON GYM LEADER FROM CERULEAN!"

Ash quickly turned to look at the entrance of the store. There she was. She had gotten just a little taller, but not by much. Her hair was more of a distinct orange now, but it still had some hints of red blended in. She wore her hair down however, and so as she stood there, it flowed gently with the breeze. Her skin had become really smooth and it blended in perfectly with her new outfit. She wore a white tank top with light blue shorts along with a sleeveless jacket that came down to just above her knees. The color of the jacket was a combination of teal and blue, just like her eyes. When he looked at them, it seemed as though he was looking into a vast ocean that never ended, but for as long as he looked at her, she didn't even glance at him.

Misty stood there and smiled. The group from the hotel began to run over to the store. Brock, May and Ash got up and started to run after them. As they were running, Brock yelled over to Ash, "Hey Ash, it's Misty!"

"Yeah! I know! But how do all of these people know her too?"

"Excuse me! But I'd like to know how _you two_ know her?" asked May accusingly.

"She's a good friend of ours," replied Brock.

May looked at Ash who was focused on Misty. May got extremely jealous then. Misty was beautiful, anyone could tell that, and she looked to be as old as Ash. May turned extremely quiet as she thought of how Ash viewed her. He probably thought that she was a little girl and with Misty being here…wait a second, Misty! That was the person Ash said in his sleep. Now May knew that Ash was really good friends with her. She stopped thinking about that when Brock suddenly replied.

"Well they probably know her because she's the gym leader, and so they admire and adore her or something."

Oh great, May thought, Misty was a gym leader. Her trainer skills weren't even considered skills.

They were standing now in front of the store entrance and it seemed like the group was hushing down so that Misty could give a speech. Ash, Brock and May were standing all the way at the back, but because it was a small group, they could see Misty clearly. Seeing her again made something stir inside of Ash. He felt a lot closer to her somehow even though there was a crowd between them. Everyone got quiet as Misty put up a hand to signal that she wanted to say something.

"All water pokemon trainers! I welcome you to Lilycove City where we have come to be a part of the wonderful Water Pokemon Convention! As I came here, I thought nothing more than of the shops and sites, because that is all I heard about! So of course, I came and I did just that! Oh! I must tell you all a little secret! On the third floor there is the cutest little shop with water pokemon dolls and I bought some there! When the salesmen found out that I was the Cerulean City Gym Leader, he asked if I could sign some of the dolls, and I did! So you can all go and…"

She stopped talking because as soon as she said that all of the trainers started running inside the store. After the last person had passed by, Misty chuckled and turned toward a man that was standing next to her. Ash had just realized him for the first time, and he seemed really familiar but he couldn't tell who it was.

That really didn't matter to him as much, because he started to worry more about Misty. Had she really changed that much? She never liked shopping, well she did, but it wasn't her priority. And since when had she become such a celebrity? Even if she was well known, Ash knew that she wouldn't let it get to her head. She had changed so much, that Ash didn't know if it was really her. The man that she had turned to said something and he showed her the way down the steps.

As Misty and the man were getting toward the bottom of the stairs, Brock called out, "Hey Misty! Long time no see!" Misty finally saw who was talking and her smile widened. She laughed bluntly.

"Brock! Wow, it's really you!" She walked up to him and then looked at May.

"And who might you be?" she said in a little kid voice.

"I," May replied in a superior tone, "am May; I'm friends with Ash and Brock."

Misty smirked at the tone of voice that May had used and then she realized the name that she had said.

"Oh! Ash!"

Misty finally looked at Ash and she smiled. Ash looked at her eyes and he melted. It really was Misty. The two of them just looked at each other for a couple of seconds and finally Ash said quietly with a smile, "Hi Misty. It's been a while."

Her smile became as warm as the sun, but the man that was with her was not smiling. Just before she could say anything, her smiled suddenly turned cold and her eyes stiff. She turned away from him abruptly and looked at Brock.

"So how are your pokemon doing?"

Misty smiled, but it wasn't the same one that he just received from her. In those few seconds, she had changed back into the person he didn't recognize. The man standing beside her seemed happy at the change in her behavior.

"Um, they're doing great! How about you?" replied Brock.

"I'm great! Actually I've never been better!"

Ash was in deep thought about Misty, and especially about the man that was with her. He seemed so familiar, but yet he still couldn't figure out what it was.

"Misty, who's your friend?"

She didn't even look at Ash; instead, she turned and looked at her friend. "Why this is Rudy, from the Orange Islands."

"RUDY!"

Ash couldn't believe it. His jaw dropped and he had gotten really angry. His face showed his emotion and Rudy could tell. He finally went up to Ash and spoke to him.

"Yes Ash, remember me?"

The handsome boy smirked and chuckled.

"Yeah…I remember you."

Ash pouted and looked away.

"I met Misty on the ship that took us here. What a coincidence, huh?"

Rudy smirked again and laughed to himself as he saw Ash's frustrated face.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe we bumped into each other on the ship! Rudy here showed me all of his new water pokemon and I couldn't believe how many new interesting things I hadn't known about! Rudy is so smart, he knows everything."

Misty was looking at him and smiling. There was still something different about it. Whenever Ash looked at her, he felt a coldness sweep over him, and yet it seemed that there was warmth somewhere very distant.

"Well come on Misty, we need to get going. The first part of the convention is going to start soon and we need to set up."

Rudy took her arm and led her away from the group.

"Bye! Nice seeing…you…"

Brock's voice died away as Misty left without saying a word in return. Ash was really angry. How could she have changed so much? She didn't even say more than two words to him. But his anger died away quickly as it began to be replaced by worry. He had in fact seen the real Misty for a couple seconds. It was the same old Misty he had remembered but then she began to act differently again. What had caused her to be like that? He wondered and wondered but then May interrupted him.

"So…that was your friend Misty? She seems like she's nice. Oh I know! We should go get tickets to the convention! It should be a lot of fun! We can learn all kinds of new things too! How about it Ash?"

"Yeah…yeah! We should! Good idea May."

Ash smiled with a hint of a smirk. May was thrilled that he had liked her idea. Now he would surely begin to notice her, right? To her, Misty seemed like a snotty person, so there was no way Ash could have any interest in her. May began to get excited and lost in her thoughts as the same thing was happening in Ash's head. If we go, I might get a better idea of what's going on with Misty, he thought.

The three of them headed back to the restaurant and ate their lunch. They were ready to start exploring the city so Ash suggested that they go to see if they could get tickets first.

"I think we should find out where the convention is taking place."

"Oh! No problem! I got a ton of maps at the Pokemon Center!"

"Great thinking May! I don't know why I didn't think of that," said Brock with a frown.

"Oh, that's probably because you were too busy focusing on Nurse Joy," she replied.

"Well then? Do you know where it is?"

"Yeah, it should be close to the beach."

"Alright then, let's go."

Brock and May were just about to take a step, but Ash had already taken ten steps ahead of them. He was ready to find out what in the world had happened to Misty.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Down at the beach, there was something that looked like half of a small stadium with a lot of stands. It was where all of the water pokemon trainers had gone. There was just enough room for the big stage to be put on the waterfront. Everywhere they looked, there were countless banners and booths to buy souvenirs. May had looked at them longingly, but she stood firm, as she wanted to impress Ash. They walked past the booths and onto the beach where the convention was going to take place. Ash reached the entrance first so he was the one to ask for the tickets.

"We would like to buy three tickets for the convention please."

"Yeah, and so would everyone else! Go away…we're sold out," the receptionist said with a snotty tone.

She closed the window and put up a sign that said in big red letters, "SOLD OUT" Ash yelled back at the closed window.

"Well! I don't care if you don't have any tickets! I'll just find some myself!"

He marched away from the ticket counter fuming mad. May saw this and tried to calm him down.

"Don't worry Ash, we'll find some tickets somewhere…" she said quietly.

"Hmm, I don't know. Where would we find tickets now if they are all sold out?"

Ash got quiet and sad. As if he was planning on this, Rudy appeared out of the blue with a big bright smirk on his face.

"Why hello Ash! I couldn't help but overhearing what you were saying and I think I have a solution. You see I am the one in charge of this convention and it just so happens that I have some extra tickets. Here I want you to have them! Free of charge."

Ash took the tickets, but gave him a mistrusting look. May just smiled and squealed with delight.

"Wow! Thank you so much Rudy! You're so nice!"

Ash looked at her as if he had just turned into some sort of an alien. Her too? First Misty, and now May. What power did this Rudy have over his friends? Just as Ash thought that, Brock budged in front of May and began talking to Rudy eagerly.

"Rudy! Since you're a gym leader from the Orange Islands, could you tell me what kind of environment the pokemon live in? Oh! And what kind of food they eat…Oh! And …"

Rudy held up his hand like Misty had done with the crowd and Brock stopped talking in an instant. It seemed like only Ash was immune to Rudy's charm, and no one else.

"Don't worry Brock, all of those questions will be answered during the convention. Well I have to go, but you three should find your seats because the convention is about to begin!"

He gave a big smile to May and Brock, but then gave a "don't mess with me" look to Ash. Ash wasn't surprised, as the more time he spent with Rudy, the more suspicious he got about Rudy. He didn't have any more time to think about the matter, because Brock and May had already started to walk towards the stadium.

After a few minutes, the trainers started to gather into the stadium and the group found their seats. Rudy had given them tickets in the front row. Ash thought that it was extremely generous of Rudy to do that. All he did was think about what Rudy could be doing with Misty, or the things he could be telling her. Ash shuddered. Pikachu was in his lap and just then he realized that Pikachu hadn't even greeted Misty back at the store.

"Pikachu, why didn't you do anything when we saw Misty? She's our friend."

Pikachu gave him a sad look.

"Pika-Pi, Pikachu"

"Yeah, I know. It seemed as if she were a stranger. I don't blame you buddy."

Ash scratched Pikachu behind his ears. May looked at Ash and Pikachu, and wondered why they were so depressed.

"Hey Ash, don't you think it was nice of Rudy to give us free front row tickets?"

"Yeah, sure…" Ash said in a monotone voice. He didn't even turn to look at her.

"Well, I'm sure glad he did. We can learn so much here. It can be to our benefit, you know, for battles…"

He finally looked at her and gave her a half-hearted smile.

"I'm glad your starting to get interested in this kind of stuff. Show's how much you've matured in this city."

May couldn't believe it! He thought she was mature. But she didn't want to seem too excited so she just gave a little sigh.

"Yeah…I guess I have. I just wish they would start already."

"Yeah me too."

At that moment, Brock leapt up out of his seat and pointed excitedly.

"Wow! Look! It's Officer Jenny!"

He began to drool and stare like always. Pikachu also stood up.

"Pika Pikachu!"

"Yeah Pikachu, it seems like they are finally going to start!" said Ash anxiously.

Officer Jenny went up to the microphone and waited for the crowd to quiet down.

"Ladies and gentlemen, water pokemon trainers! Lilycove City would like to welcome you to the first annual WATER POKEMON CONVENTION!"

As she said this, the whole crowd cheered.

"Now, now, quiet down, please."

She waited again and then started talking.

"As I'm sure you all know, there are two people who have committed themselves to making this a great convention! So without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to two of the most famous Water Pokemon Gym Leaders! Here they are! Rudy of the Orange Islands! And Misty of Cerulean City!"

The crowd stood up and cheered as the two of them walked onto the stage.

Ash could see them perfectly since they were in the front row. Misty hadn't changed a bit since he saw her that afternoon. But now, he could see that Rudy had a necklace around his neck with a rectangular medallion. Ash shifted his attention away from the strange medallion as Pikachu began to shift in his lap. He looked angry, as if someone had just hurt his friend.

"Pikachu, what's the matter?"

It was then that Ash realized that Pikachu was looking at Misty. She was just standing next to Rudy, with that cold smile on her face again.

"You think something is wrong with Misty?"

"Pi Pikachu"

Ash didn't have time to respond because Rudy started talking into the microphone.

"Everyone! Quiet down please! Well I would like to let you all know, that you are the best kind of trainers out there, because we all know that water pokemon are the best kind of pokemon!"

Misty moved right in front of Rudy then, and spoke.

"Yup! Rudy is right! Water Pokemon are the best! So to get on with the program, Rudy?"

"Yes Misty, we should start shouldn't we?"

He chuckled and then pointed to a table that had just appeared on the stage. On it were two pictures of a Horsea. One was labeled "Before" and one was labeled "After".

"Here, we are going to demonstrate a special pokemon treatment. We all know that water pokemon are the best, but we have found a way to make them even better. They can become stronger! They can become faster! They can truly become the best pokemon ever!"

Rudy stepped aside from the microphone and Misty stepped in his place.

"Yes, and here are the results! I used my Horsea to see if this treatment really worked!"

Pikachu began to get even more irritated.

"Pikachu! Calm down! I need to hear what she is saying!"

"This first picture is of my Horsea before the treatment, and the second is of my Horsea after."

Suddenly, a big screen T.V. appeared from behind the stage and it showed the two pictures. The crowd gave "Oooo's" and "Ahhhh's" as they looked at the transformation. That wasn't the response Ash had however. He couldn't believe it. Her Horsea looked like it had gone through so much pain, but it did look like it was a bit bigger and stronger. But Ash could tell in Horsea's face that it had been hurt, not just physically, but also emotionally. Misty was just standing there smiling like a doll and then Ash's jaw dropped in a flash. As he looked at Misty now, he had immediately realized that through all of his worrying about Misty, he hadn't realized that Misty didn't have her Togepi with her! She would never in a million years part with her Togepi. Something was definitely wrong with Misty and Pikachu could sense it too.

Just as Rudy was about to speak again, Pikachu ran up on the stage.

"Pikachu! What are you doing?"

Ash yelled after him. Rudy hadn't seen Pikachu so he continued talking.

"As you all can see, the treatment worked perfectly on Misty's Horsea and it can work wonders for your pokemon too!"

Ash took a quick glance away from Pikachu and looked at Rudy. Ash couldn't believe it. Rudy's medallion had begun to glow a bright blue.

"All you have to do is drop off your pokemon with us and before you know it, your pokemon will be unstoppable!"

The crowd then buzzed with questions and uncertainty. Rudy wasn't happy with this and it looked like he was reaching for his medallion.

"PIKKAAACHUUU!"

Pikachu yelled and zapped Ash, May, and Brock with a thunder shock, just as Rudy had touched his medallion. The three of them were burnt and they fell on the floor. Ash was really mad.

"Pikachu! What in the world did you do that for?"

"Yeah! My clothes are all ruined! Now I have to go and…" but May's voice trailed off because Ash gave her a mean look.

Pikachu ran back to them and stood right in front of Ash, who was still sitting on the sand.

"Pika-Pi"

Pikachu pointed at the rest of the stadium as Brock said, "Hey guys! Do you hear that?"

Ash turned to look at the people in the stadium; they had all turned silent. It was like they had turned into zombies, waiting for someone to tell them what to do. Ash, May and Brock got up and went back to their seats, all with concerned looks on their faces. Rudy seemed happy though, and Misty, well she was still just standing there, smiling away at the crowd.

"SO, like I was saying, if you would like your pokemon to get this treatment, then please proceed to the front stage to drop off your pokemon in an orderly fashion."

As if by command, the first row got up and went to the stage. A machine popped up out of nowhere and it seemed like a teleportation device. The first person that reached the machine placed all of his poke balls on it, and then they disappeared. One by one, all of the trainers in the stadium had gotten up, just like Rudy said, in an orderly fashion. After all of the trainers had left, and only Ash, May, Brock and Pikachu were left, Rudy spoke into the microphone, as if he thought that the whole crowd were still there.

"Well that's it folks! Come by later to pick up your newly improved pokemon! Thanks for coming!"

Rudy turned toward Misty and said something. She automatically started to pack up everything that was on the stage, which wasn't much. Rudy's medallion had stopped glowing and he went somewhere off the stage to talk to Officer Jenny. Brock saw that and so he went right after Rudy, and May rushed to catch up with the hopeless Brock. Ash was still worried and wanted to try and see what was wrong with Misty, so he ran up onto the stage. As he did that, the machine had disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared.

"Hey Misty!"

She turned around and was smiling again. Ash felt the coldness come back again, so he had to back away a bit.

"Did you give us your pokemon so that they could be the best they could be?"

It sounded as if she was an echo of what Rudy had just said.

"No. I would never let my pokemon be hurt like that! It's just wrong Misty why would you even let them do that to your pokemon? And where is your Togepi?"

Ash gave her pleading look but her eyes just widened and her smile became nothing. It wasn't a smile and it wasn't a frown.

"Misty? Are you there?"

From somewhere away from the stage, Rudy turned abruptly to see Ash talking to Misty. He got really angry and rushed to them.

"Is everything alright? I sensed that something was wrong."

Ash looked at him and saw that his medallion was glowing again. He was about to say something, but Rudy saw that and quickly touched the medallion and put it under his shirt. And just like that Misty was smiling again.

"Ash you really should have given us your pokemon! Then you would really be able to become the Master of Pokemon!"

She smirked and reached out for his arm. Misty tried to look convincing, but when she touched him he jumped away. It had felt as if he had just been shot with a bunch of ice.

"What's wrong Ash? Did I do something?"

She gave him a puppy dog look but he just looked angrily at Rudy, who was smiling. May saw what was happening and grabbed Brock away from Officer Jenny.

"Yeah Ash. I agree with Misty. You could be the best, but that doesn't matter, it's your choice, right?"

Rudy leaned in close to Ash and gave him the meanest smile ever. But then he quickly backed away as Pikachu jumped up on Ash's shoulder.

"Pi-ka-chuuu"

He gave Rudy a mean look and started to give off sparks from his cheeks. Rudy chuckled.

"Nice pokemon," he said with a nasty tone. Just then May and Brock arrived.

"Ash, is everything alright? Pikachu looks…" May's voice was cut off by Ash's.

"Yeah. Everything is just great!" Ash said sarcastically. Rudy turned to Misty and said something. He went off behind the stage and disappeared.

Misty looked at Brock and said with a sweet tone, "Brock, can you still cook as well as I remember?" Brock gave her a big grin.

"Can I cook? Ha! Everyone knows that I'm the best!"

Misty chuckled, but Ash wasn't convinced.

"Why do you want to know Misty?" She turned to Ash and said simply, "Well since we're all here, I thought we could, you know, camp out like the old times, in the woods."

Ash looked skeptically at her, but agreed. May seemed aggravated at the idea though. She didn't want anything to do with Misty and she didn't want her anywhere near Ash.

"Okay then! So I'll go get my things and meet you guys at the Pokemon Center!"

She smiled but as she passed by Ash, he felt the coldness again. Pikachu must have felt it too, because he grumbled at her.

"This should be fun! It will be like old times! Remember Ash?" asked Brock.

"Yeah I remember…"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

They were back in their room at the Pokemon Center. It was almost dark now, and May didn't know why they had to go camping right at this moment.

"Guys, can't we go like when there's daylight outside?"

"Why? Awww, is May scared of the dark?" asked Brock mockingly.

"NO! I am not! … It just doesn't make any sense, that's all, and I don't see why Misty would want to go now either. She didn't seem so eager to be with you guys when we were in front of the store, so what's the sudden change-…"

"Change in what?" asked Misty who just came into their room.

"Uh…change in…in temperature!" said May.

"I didn't feel a change."

"Well, it's not that much, just a little…"

"Okay…so, are we going? I'm ready!" said Misty enthusiastically.

"Yeah almost. Ash still is getting something. Hey Ash! Are you coming or not?" asked Brock.

"Uh, yeah! Just a sec!"

A second later Ash came out of the room and saw everyone waiting for him in the lobby. When May saw him coming, she started to worry. He had a big smile on his face, which could only mean that he was happy about spending time with Misty. What did he see in her anyway? She took Misty aside by the arm so that Brock wouldn't hear them.

"Misty, what are you, a pokemon gym leader, doing going out…_camping_?"

"WELL," she took May's hand off her arm, "I just felt like it, okay? And who are you to tell _me_ what I can and cannot do? Besides, you're just a little girl. You know nothing."

Misty gave her a mean smirk. Ash saw that Misty and May were talking. He couldn't believe that Misty was really here. After so long, but something still nagged him about her. Well, he was going to find out what it was sooner or later, so he decided to put that worry to the back of his head.

"Hey! I'm not a little girl! For your information, I-…"

"What's going on you two?"

"Oh nothing Ash! I was just telling May here all about my gym! Right May?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay, well Brock's waiting, so we should start going before it gets completely dark outside."

"You're absolutely right Ash! We should go!"

Ash smiled at Misty and went over to Brock. As he did this, Misty looked over her shoulder at May and smirked. May pouted angrily because she knew she couldn't say anything. She looked over at Ash and saw that he and Brock were heading out the door. May quickly smirked back at Misty and then made a mad dash to get to the doors before her.

"Wow! They seem excited about going!" said Brock as Misty and May ran past him and Ash. Pikachu perked up his ears and pointed to the closed doors.

"Pika Pi!"

"Yeah…hey! We should catch up to them!"

The four of them were now just outside of Lilycove City. The path happened to be the same one as the one that they used to come into the city. May looked more irritated than ever; most likely because she was walking by all by herself, behind Ash, Brock and Misty.

"So, do we know where we are headed?"

May peeked her head over Ash's shoulder and bumped Misty aside.

"Um, I don't know, I guess any-…"

"OH! I completely forgot to tell you about this place I know!" interrupted Misty.

"How do you know-…" May asked suspiciously, but was interrupted.

"There is this lake and it's not far from here! Come on, let's go!"

"Waaaa!" Misty pulled Ash's and Brock's arms and left May to go running after them. All of this seemed really weird to her. Hadn't Ash realized she couldn't know a place in the middle of a forest if she had just gotten there?

After a few minutes of running through the forest, they found the lake, just like Misty had said there would be. It had gotten dark just as they found the lake, so Brock went to go find some firewood, leaving Ash alone with Misty and May. There was only one log to sit on and three people. Ash sat down, but then Misty sat right by him. May saw this and did the same thing. Ash started to feel uncomfortable and stood up.

"Why did you stand up Ash? There's enough room for you," said Misty.

"Um…no, that's okay. You two should sit. I'll just…sit on the grass."

"Well, while Brock gets the firewood, we should spread ourselves out," suggested May.

"That's a good idea!" said Ash, happy to be doing something.

They took out their sleeping bags and looked around to find a good place to put them. May put her things down by the lake, and Misty put her things just before the forest started to become dense. Ash went by Misty and smiled. He put his things down by her, but then she took her sleeping bag and put it on the grass about five feet away. Misty then went to the lake to wash her face. Ash became more puzzled than ever. At first, it seemed like Misty didn't even care that he was there, and then she suggested that they go camping and she clings on to him like he's her security guard. Now, she went back to ignoring him. This was definitely not the Misty he remembered. Just then, Misty and May were coming back from the lake, and Brock came back from the forest.

"I got plenty of firewood to last us a while. May would you like to do the honors?" asked Brock smiling.

He put down the firewood and May snickered. She looked at Misty and smirked.

"I'd love to Brock! Go! Torchic! Use Ember!"

"Torchic! Tor!"

May's Torchic used Ember and now a fire was lighting the campsite. Misty's jaw dropped as she had no idea that May had pokemon. But as quickly as it had dropped, it became a smile. 

"Wow May! I didn't know you had pokemon! That Torchic is so cute!"

"Why thank you Misty."

"You know though, it looks a bit weak."

"My Torchic is not weak!" yelled May.

"Well maybe not, but you should have left it back there at the convention so it could become stronger."

Now the anger inside of Ash came out again.

"Misty! How could you even say that? How could you agree with what Rudy said?"

Before she could answer, May jumped in with a question of her own.

"Oh yeah! Rudy! Why didn't Rudy come with us?"

"Oh…uhh…Rudy! Right, he… he had to… stay to run the convention!" said Misty trying to sound convincing.

"Oh…that's too bad… so… Brock, what are we having for dinner?"

Pikachu looked at May and smiled. May was shocked because lately it seemed like he didn't like her that much. But since Pikachu was being nice, she smiled back and then looked back at Brock.

"Well, I was thinking some soup. Is that okay with you guys?"

"Yeah…I guess that's fine…" said Misty.

"Sounds great Brock!" said Ash enthusiastically.

They waited patiently while Brock cooked. Misty just sat there, bored out of her mind, but May was playing with her Torchic. Ash looked at the two of them and got chills up his spine. As he looked at them, he could have sworn that May was Misty and Misty was May. It was like they totally switched personalities. Ash got tired of thinking so he just looked at the vast lake.

"Alright guys! Soup's ready!"

They all ate in silence, listening to the night around them. After they were done, they sat in their sleeping bags, waiting for the fire to die out.

"Goodnight Brock, goodnight May, goodnight Pikachu…goodnight Misty" said Ash.

They all responded with goodnights except for Misty. The fire went out and Ash felt cold. He curled up with Pikachu by his side and let the sadness sweep over him until he fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

They woke up and ate breakfast just as usual. It was a beautiful day outside, so Pikachu decided to go play in the lake. Ash saw this and smiled.

"So Pikachu, you want to play? Hmm, maybe we should let your friends out too! Come on out everyone!"

One by one his pokemon came out of their poke balls and they ran into the water to join Pikachu. Misty came to the edge of the lake and looked at the pokemon with excitement.

"Wow! What awesome pokemon you have Ash! They could be valuable…"

Ash gave her a confused look and she quickly took it back.

"I mean you know, valuable to you so that you can beat all of the gyms…"

"Yeah, but they're also my friends Misty."

"Yeah, friends."

She looked back at the lake and observed the pokemon for a while. Ash thought about it and he figured out just what to do to see if Misty really had changed or not. He backed away so that she wouldn't see him and then he sneaked up behind her. As she leaned closer to the water, he pushed her into the lake. Ash couldn't help but laugh; it was just too funny. The sound of Misty's fall into the lake made Brock and May come running.

"What happened? Is everyone okay?" asked May.

"Yeah we heard a big splash."

"Oh it's nothing Brock. Ash just pushed me into the water, that's all," said Misty with a smile on her face as she pulled herself out of the water.

She walked right by Ash and didn't even look at him. His laughter automatically stopped and he scratched his head with confusion written all over his face.

"Ash! That was so rude of you! How could you do that to Misty? Would you like it if I pushed _you_ into the lake? Would you?"

Ash couldn't believe it. He was expecting that kind of reaction from Misty, not May. At that moment he gave up. Misty had changed, and he couldn't do anything about it. But the worst part about it was that May had turned into Misty. It was scary and Ash just walked away from her.

"Misty, I'm sorry I did that to you. I just, you know, thought it would be fun."

"That's okay Ash. I was planning on going into the lake for a swim anyway, so thanks!"

She walked away and went to go look through her things. Ash sighed and went to go find some apples for Pikachu and his other pokemon to eat.

Meanwhile, James, Jesse and Meowth were observing the campsite from a tree nearby.

"OOOOO! Look! It's a twerp reunion!" said James excitedly.

"Haha! The girl sure has changed! OOO! What if her pokemon became stronger?" asked Jesse even more excitedly than James.

"Well what about Pikachu? Aren't we going to go after it like always?"

"Meowth, what always happens when we go after Pikachu? We get blown away and we end up with nothing."

"Jesse is right. We'll end up getting shocked by Pikachu and I don't want that to happen."

"Okay, so Mr. Smarty Pants, what's the plan?"

"Don't look at me! Jesse is the one with the ideas!"

Jessie suddenly smiled and looked at James and Meowth through the corner of her eye.

"Jesse, uhh, what are you thinking?" asked James with a worried tone in his voice.

"Haha…don't you worry about a thing…I've got a plan!"

Back at the campsite, May was playing with her Skitty. By now it was noon and Ash was back with the apples. When the pokemon finished eating, they all went back inside their poke balls so that they could rest. Misty was starting to look irritated and annoyed at the fact that they were in the woods. Ash sensed this and went up to her.

"Misty are you feeling okay?"

"Oh no, I'm just fine! Why do you ask?"

"Well you seem a bit… uneasy, that's all."

"That's probably because I haven't been in the woods in a while."

"Oh right! Scared of the bug pokemon huh?" said Ash with a chuckle.

Misty just looked at him as if he were making no sense and when she saw the same expression on his face, she quickly responded.

"Oh yeah! The bug pokemon… I guess it's because of them…"

Ash shrugged his shoulders and as he turned away he rolled his eyes.

"Pikachu? Oh there you are!"

"Pika Pi!"

Pikachu perked up his ears, ran over to Ash and jumped up on his shoulders. Ash smiled and chuckled. It was still a nice day, but suddenly the wind picked up a bit. As if on cue, Team Rocket jumped up out of the bushes and introduced themselves like always.

"Ohhahhh! It's Team Rocket!"

"Prepare for trouble like you always do"

"And make we'll make it double just for you,"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Yeah yeah yeah…we know who you are," said Misty with a sigh.

"Hey Missy! Don't interrupt us!"

"The name is Misty, not Missy, maybe you should learn how to talk before you open your mouth."

Jesse growled heatedly but Misty just smirked. Jesse calmed down and smirked back.

"It doesn't matter, because I am not here to argue with you. I came here for the pokemon!"

"Oh no you don't! Pikachu go-…" Ash said but what cut off by May.

"It's okay Ash," she looked at Misty and grinned, "I can handle this one."

"Haha! The little twerp wants to challenge you Jess," said James gleefully.

"Fine. I'll teach her a thing or two."

"But Jesse, what about the plan?" asked James quietly.

"WELL THERE'S A CHANGE IN PLANS!" screeched Jesse angrily.

James and Meowth backed away as they didn't want to be near an angry Jesse. May got ready to battle but Misty just yawned, and sat down on the grass to watch.

"You are not going to take any pokemon!"

"We'll just see about that little girl. Go Seviper!"

"I am not a little girl! Go Torchic!"

"Seviper, use Poison Tail!"

"Quick Torchic! Dodge it!"

"Torchic Tor! Torrchicc!"

Torchic couldn't dodge the attack and got hit by the poison tail attack. May looked worried while Jesse laughed in her face.

"Hahaha! That was too easy! But of course, me being the excellent trainer that I am!"

While everyone was busy watching the battle, James and Meowth snuck up behind Pikachu and grabbed him.

"PIKACHU!"

"Ohhahh! Pikachu! Give him back!"

Misty got annoyed and stood up. This was so sudden that everyone stopped in their tracks. She put her hand on her chest and said, "I am sick and tired of this. After all of this time, you are still trying to capture Pikachu, and has it worked yet? No, it hasn't."

"What do you know?" asked Jesse with a snotty tone.

"Don't interrupt me!" Jesse tried to respond, but she couldn't open her mouth.

"Now, listen up. You are going to give Pikachu back, and you aren't going to try to steal any pokemon ever again."

Misty smiled then, and sat down. Just like that, James gave Pikachu back to Ash and the three of them left without a word. Ash couldn't believe it. Just with a few words, and Misty had gotten rid of Team Rocket.

"Wow Misty! Thanks!"

"Pika Pi!"

"Yeah Misty! I don't know what you said, but it sure got to Team Rocket!" said Brock.

May just looked at her with hatred building up in her heart. What did she do to Team Rocket? They never just gave in like that. And now she was getting all of the attention. Her Torchic was in pretty bad shape and then she remembered.

"Hey Ash!"

"Yeah?" He turned around and walked over to her. "What's up?"

"My Torchic is poisoned. Can I use some of the medicine you bought?"

"OH! THE MEDICINE! Umm…" Ash looked around nervously.

"Well? Didn't you say you bought some?"

"Umm…I think I forgot it…at the Pokemon Center!"

Brock walked over and heard Ash and May talking.

"Don't worry May! I've got just the thing!"

He walked over to his backpack and pulled out a spray bottle. He sprayed the medicine on Torchic and in a couple of seconds he was back to his old self.

"Tor! Torchic Tor!"

"Thanks Brock!" She smiled and stood up. "Torchic! Return."

She put her poke ball away and went over to sit by the lake. Misty came over to her and sat down as well. She didn't look at May, but May became angry. She had humiliated herself and her pokemon in front of Ash and Misty. She decided that this would be a good time to try and be nice to Misty because she figured that she would have to deal with her for a while.

"Um…Misty?"

"Yeah?"

"Well I was just thinking…that we got off on the wrong foot."

Misty just looked at her with not the slightest expression on her face.

"And that we should you know… maybe start over?"

Misty continued to look at her, but then suddenly she laughed. It wasn't a nice one though. It was as mean as you could get. She leaned in close to May and whispered.

"Listen up, and listen up good. No, we didn't start off on the wrong foot. I just don't like you; can't you tell that? Oh wait, that's right, you wouldn't be able to because you're not old enough to understand. And don't even think about talking back. You don't deserve to."

May looked at her in shock. Who was this awful person? How could Ash and Brock possibly be friends with her?

"I'm only here for one purpose and one purpose only. You better not get into my business, and I mean it! Or you'll regret it…"

Misty suddenly smiled at her and stood up. She walked away and May watched her sit down with Brock and Ash. The three of them looked as if they were catching up on old times and having a ton of fun. May couldn't stand to watch and so she just went into the woods to get away from them.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. The group mostly just sat around or played with their pokemon occasionally. It was getting dark, and so Ash, Misty, May and Brock sat down by the edge of the lake to watch the sunset. Pikachu yawned and walked to Ash's sleeping bag. Ash followed and soon everyone was falling asleep; everyone but May, that is. She lay awake again, thinking about what a cruel person Misty was. Her thoughts occupied her, until finally, it seemed like she was falling asleep. But suddenly she heard a noise from the other side of the campsite. May tried to figure out who it was, while trying to hide the fact that she was awake. Suddenly, her eyes widened as she figured out who it was. It was Misty, and she was taking Brock's poke balls! She couldn't believe it!

May saw Misty turn around and head toward the forest. Since Misty couldn't see her, May sat up and woke up Ash.

"Ash…Ash!" She whispered quietly.

"Waaaa…"

"Ash, it's Misty."

He sat up with a jolt and he said loudly, "Is she okay?"

Misty turned around abruptly and looked at May with the most horrid expression on her face. Misty quickly ran back to Brock's backpack, and put the poke balls away. Then, she slipped into her sleeping bag and pretended to be sleeping.

"Ash, she took Brock's poke balls!"

Ash looked at Brock, then at Misty, and finally looked at May with an annoyed expression on his face.

"May, why in the world did you wake me up? And why would you lie to me?"

"Ash! I'm not lying! I swear I saw her! Pikachu? Didn't you see her?"

May looked at Pikachu pleadingly, but he was fast asleep. She looked down at the ground and Ash laid down again.

"May, I'm going to sleep. Please don't bother me with what you think you saw…"

And with that he was asleep again. May wanted to cry, but just as she was going to go to sleep, Misty sat up and gave her one last glare, to warn her. May nodded, and Misty went back to sleep. May gave up and finally fell asleep.

After about an hour, Misty woke up again. She went over to Brock's back pack, and took his poke balls and put them in her bag. Next, she quietly tip toed over to May, and took her poke balls as well. Finally, she went over to Ash, and did the same. She had a bag full of pokemon, but she wasn't satisfied. She looked at Pikachu and nodded. She knew what she had to do. Misty picked up Ash's last poke ball, and aimed it toward Pikachu. Ash was stirring and with a quiet struggle, Pikachu went into the poke ball. Misty quickly put the bag over her shoulder and ran into the forest.

Ash woke up with a start and caught his breath.

"Pikachu, you wouldn't believe the nightmare I just had!" Ash whispered, but then he saw that Pikachu wasn't there.

"Ohhahh! Pikachu! My pokemon!"

He looked at the forest and caught a glimpse of Misty walking into it. He couldn't believe it! May hadn't been lying! Misty really did steal the pokemon! He started to run after her, but saw that up ahead, there was a poke ball on the ground. It was moving back and forth, until finally a pokemon came out.

"Pikachu! Are you okay?"

"Pika!"

Pikachu ran up into Ash's arms and the two friends smiled, but then realized what they had to do. They ran into the forest, with the night all around them. Misty had stolen their pokemon, and they were going to get them back.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

May woke up suddenly. She thought she heard someone talking.

"Ash? What's going on?"

She yawned and rubbed her eyes. She couldn't believe what she saw. Ash, Misty, and all of her poke balls were all gone. May knew that Misty would stop at nothing to complete her plan, whatever that was. She got up and started to run into the only place they could have gone, the forest.

Ash and Pikachu were still trying to find Misty. It seemed like they were walking for forever; it was as if Misty had just disappeared. Ash found a small and empty clearing with some bushes in the middle of it. He leaned against a tree and looked at the sky.

"Pikachu? Why did she do it?"

Pikachu's ears flopped down and he looked down at the ground, just as sad as Ash.

"Pika…"

"Yeah, I don't know either. I just wish we could find her…"

"Pikachu!"

Ash and Pikachu ran behind the tree and the bushes that they were by. They heard a noise coming from the bushes in the middle of the clearing. Then suddenly, the bushes moved aside and Misty popped up from the ground with a man.

"Pikachu, no," Ash whispered, "shhh…we need to hear what they are saying."

"You did a good job Misty. Those pokemon were a valuable addition to the project."

Ash recognized that voice. It was Rudy! And then he saw it.

"Pikachu! It's the medallion!" said Ash in awe.

It was around Misty's neck. Everything seemed to make sense now. Well, somewhat. Ash figured that Misty's behavior had something to do with the medallion, he was sure of it. But what it did, he had no clue.

"Thank you Rudy. It was really easy, even easier than the pokemon convention was."

"Well, you keep up the good work. The boss will be pleased with you. I have to get going now."

Rudy went back down inside the hole, and the bushes went back to their original position. Just as Misty was going to go back to the campsite, Ash and Pikachu jumped out of the bushes. She was shocked, but just for a second, because right then, the medallion began to glow and she seemed calm again.

"Misty! What have you done?"

"Ah-ah-ah! No questions, or else."

She wagged her finger at Ash, and then she pointed at the glowing medallion.

"What is that?"

"Oh nothing. Just something I like to call my psychic friend."

She smirked and Ash couldn't take it anymore. Just then, May found the clearing. She hid behind the bushes where Ash had hidden with Pikachu just a moment ago.

"Misty, I don't want to do this…but I have to. Pikachu! Go! Thunderbolt now!"

"Pika Pikachu!"

He got ready for the attack, but before Pikachu could do anything, Misty touched the medallion and Pikachu started to sleep. Ash couldn't believe it. His only pokemon at the moment, and he was sleeping.

"Pikachu! Come on! Wake up!"

"Don't bother. He's not going to wake up for a long time."

She chuckled and started to walk away.

"Hey! Stop! What did you do to him?"

Misty turned around and grinned.

"Oh, that's simple. Hypnosis. He's asleep. Don't worry; your little friend isn't hurt."

"Misty! Why are you doing this? What happened to you?"

"What?" she said innocently, "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Yes you did!" said Ash angrily.

This couldn't possibly be the real Misty. She would never do anything cruel to a pokemon. Ash knew what to do. Suddenly he started to run towards her, but Misty just touched the medallion again. A blue glow had appeared all around Ash and he couldn't move.

"Mis-ty! Wha- what are … you do-ing?"

Ash was struggling. He was still trying to reach her, but it wasn't doing much. All he could do was walk an inch at a time. Misty saw his stricken face and gazed at him in awe. Why wasn't the medallion stopping him? She stood there mesmerized by his strength. Misty let go of the glowing medallion, but that didn't change anything. Ash continued to come closer to her, inch by inch. She wanted to run away, but for some reason her feet wouldn't let her move. He was getting really close and Misty tried to shield herself from him.

Ash had to stop because the pain was too much. He put his arm around his stomach and bent over to catch his breath. Misty let her guard down, and decided that the medallion was working after all. But then all of a sudden, Ash yelled in agony as he used all of his strength to lean forward. He reached to grab the medallion and when he touched it, a huge flash lit up the clearing, and it became flooded with Ash's yell.

After a couple of seconds, the flash subsided and Misty was standing there, with a horrified look on her face. The medallion was on the ground, and it was broken in two. In front of her was a transparent Ash, with a glow outlining him. Misty couldn't believe it. She was herself again. But Ash… he wasn't. She didn't even want to begin to think of what happened to him.

"Ash…" Misty said quietly.

Ash smiled but his form was fading in and out, so she couldn't quite make him out. Ash was happy; he had finally brought Misty back and that was all that mattered. He looked at himself and realized what had happened. He looked back at Pikachu and sighed. Ash glided over to his sleeping friend and scratched him behind his ears. He turned around and glided back to Misty.

"I'm glad your back, although I still don't know what just happened."

He was getting even more faint and Misty just stood there with her mouth just slightly open, and with the saddest look on her face. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't find her voice.

"I'm…sorry…really…I tried…Mis…Misty…"

May couldn't believe it. Those were the exact words that she heard Ash say a couple of nights ago. She wanted to run to him, do something, but just like Misty, she was rooted to her spot behind the bushes and all she was able to do was just watch.

Ash's form was now completely gone. All that was left was a faint glowing mist. Misty's eyes widened; the mist started to reach toward her. It touched her and she felt something warm touch her heart. She heard his voice even though she couldn't see him.

"I want to let you know that I'll always be with you…I'll be with you…in your heart…"

With that said, the faint glowing mist that was Ash glided silently toward Misty and covered her in it. Misty began to glow and after a few seconds, it disappeared and Misty looked like herself again. May was shocked to the point where she just fainted.

Misty still stood there looking at the empty clearing where Ash had just been. She finally found her voice, but it was still quiet.

"Ash?"

She didn't want to believe it. He was probably just playing a cruel joke on her.

"ASH?"

He wasn't answering her. She wouldn't let herself believe it.

"**ASH!**"

She clenched her fists, and closed her eyes shut. Tears started to pour down her face as what had happened finally sunk into her. He was gone. Gone. He was gone just because he wanted to save her. Misty started to cry even more and then she felt him inside of her. He was within her; she could feel him in her blood and her soul. She felt his strength, his bravery. She felt his courage and most of all she felt his warmth and affection for others.

She couldn't take it anymore.

"**AAAASSSSHHHHHH!**"

She yelled and yelled and as she did this she began to glow again. Her body was rising in the air and all of her emotions were coming out in bursts of light. When she rose about five feet, she started to spin around in a circle slowly, like a ballerina. Her arms were outstretched and after a minute or so, there was another flash of light and it lit the whole clearing.

The light subsided, and Misty lay stiff on the ground next to Ash. He woke up first and saw that somehow he was alive again. When he saw Misty he quickly went to her.

"Misty! Misty, get up!"

She moaned and Ash helped her stand up. When he let go of her, she started to wobble and he had to hold her up. She looked at him and tears appeared in her eyes. She smiled with joy and so did Ash.

"Ash! Ash, your alive!"

She hugged him and then she quickly stepped back blushing. Ash smiled and looked into her eyes. He felt her warmth come over him and he knew it was really her.

"It's good to have you back Misty. You had me really worried…"

Ash looked down at the ground and Misty was about to say something, but they both turned around because they heard something stirring.

"Ohhahh! Pikachu!"

They ran over to him and Ash took him in his arms. Misty leaned over Ash's shoulder and pet Pikachu.

"I'm sorry Ash. I'm sorry for everything that's happened."

He looked at her and smiled.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. It wasn't you. You didn't do anything."

Misty sighed. "Yeah, but I wasn't strong enough to overcome him."

Ash became puzzled. "Wait, who are you talking about…"

Just then Pikachu opened his eyes and his ears perked up.

"PIKA! PIKACHU!"

He jumped up into Misty's arms and they both smiled.

"It's good to see you too Pikachu."

After greeting Misty, he jumped out of her arms and ran over to the bushes and pointed to them.

"Pi, Pika Pi!"

Misty's smile turned serious and she looked at Ash.

"I'll explain everything to you while we go get the pokemon back."

Ash nodded and they both ran over to Pikachu. Misty went over to a tree and pushed a secret button. The bushes went aside and the hole appeared. Ash, Pikachu and Misty climbed down the hole and they came to an underground river. Ash was amazed. He had never seen anything like it. There was a boat floating in the river and Misty grabbed Ash's arm.

"Come on Ash! We've got to save our pokemon!"

Ash nodded and the three of them got into the boat.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Misty turned on the boat and soon they were heading toward the place where the pokemon were taken. Ash was amazed at how graceful she was at handling the boat. It seemed as if she didn't even have to look and they would still get there in one piece.

"So Misty…what happened?" he asked quietly.

She looked firmly ahead and then she glanced at him. Misty sighed and then began to tell her tale.

"Well, as you know, I got an invitation to come here, for the pokemon convention. I was really excited and so I found the next ship to set sail to Lilycove City. On the ship I bumped into Rudy…"

Ash looked away angrily at the sound of the name, but she just smiled and continued.

"So I talked to him for a bit, and then I found out that he too got an invitation just like me."

"But wait, I thought that he was the one that was in charge of it? Why would he send an invitation to himself?"

"Ash! You're so impatient! I'm getting there!"

Ash pouted and she sighed. Misty steered sharply to avoid crashing on the turn.

"Where was I? … Oh yeah! So we were just talking for a few minutes when a messenger came up to us and gave Rudy an envelope." She paused for a few seconds and then she continued. "Inside was a message- _We look forward to your arrival at the convention. Here is a token of our appreciation for taking the time to come_."

"Well what was it?" asked Ash curiously.

"It was… the medallion…"

Ash's eyes got wider. "So Rudy was…a victim too?" He sounded disappointed.

"Yes. That's how it all started. He got the medallion and when he put it around his neck, he went into some sort of…trance like state of mind…and he changed so drastically, I didn't know what to do."

She paused and cringed. Ash looked at her with sympathetic eyes.

"It's okay…you're you again…"

"Yeah, I know…Well, like I said, I didn't know what to do, so…I asked him what was wrong with him and as I did, I tried to take off the medallion…Ash, it was horrible…I…I became so small…I felt so small and weak. When I touched the medallion, it was like someone-something, came inside of me and took over me. I felt so cold and weak, I couldn't do anything."

"I'm so sorry Misty…I didn't know…If I knew sooner…"

"No Ash…it doesn't matter anymore… So I hid somewhere within myself watching every move that this thing inside of me was doing. Through my own eyes I saw myself giving my pokemon away to Rudy, who was also in the same position as me, but worse. The medallion was the strongest on the person wearing it."

"But wait, who did Rudy give the pokemon to?"

"Well you see, we arrived at Lilycove City and it was like some kind of force directed us to him…He's so evil Ash…I've never met anyone as cruel as him."

She paused once again, and then continued.

"Ash, have you heard of Team Aqua?"

It took a few moments for him to figure it out.

"No! You mean…that awful man…."

"Yes. Archie. The leader of Team Aqua. We went straight to him and gave him our pokemon. Then Archie took us to where we are headed now-his secret underground base…where he does all of his…his…pokemon experiments!"

Misty couldn't take the pain anymore and she lost control of the boat.

"MISTY! WATCH OUT!"

Ash pushed Misty out of the boat and the three of them landed on the little edge of cement that was at both sides of the underground tunnel. The boat crashed into the wall just like Ash thought it would. Misty caught her breath and looked at Ash. He was lying on the floor a few feet away from her.

"Ash! Are you okay?"

She knelt by him, and helped him get up. She looked really worried and then she began to wipe off the dirt on his shirt. Ash looked at her adoringly. Misty looked at him and then realized what she was doing. She stepped back and turned away so that he wouldn't see her blushing.

"Hey Ash…where's Pikachu?"

"Don't worry," he smiled as Pikachu jumped up onto his shoulder, "he's right here."

"Pi Pika Pi!"

"Oh, good! Then everyone's all right. Well, the base is close by so we could just walk there."

"Good idea. Hey Misty?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm still confused about something. How did the medallion have so much power?"

"Well, that was another one of Archie's experiments. He used his Gardevoir and connected its psychic power to the medallion. So whenever Archie wanted to control someone, he would just tell Gardevoir to use Psychic or any other kind of attack, and then it was transferred to the medallion. After you guys didn't give the pokemon to him, he ordered me to go after you. But I tried resisting; I really did try Ash. That's when he put the medallion on me, so that I wouldn't be able to resist."

"That is so cruel…using pokemon like that…to control you…" He clenched his fists and teeth. "He uses them as his personal tools for his evil plans…Come on! We need to free all of the pokemon!"

Misty saw the spirit in him and her spirit was renewed by his ambition. They turned a final corner and in front of them was a wall.

"Pika Pikachu!"

"Oh no! It's a dead end!"

Misty smirked and chuckled.

"No, it's not."

Ash was confused but soon saw why she said that. Misty pushed another secretly hidden button and the wall moved aside to reveal Team Aqua's hidden base. Ash's jaw dropped. They were surrounded by water. The tunnel continued but instead of bricks the wall was made of glass so they could see all of the pokemon swimming.

"Well I guess some pokemon were sparred. They look normal."

"Ash, it's not just their looks. He does all kinds of evil experiments and this is one of them."

Ash looked at the pokemon more closely and saw that they looked drained of energy.

"This one is where he takes the pokemon's water energy and puts it back into the water that they swim in. Then, he drinks it to become more powerful."

Ash yelled out at her.

"That's sickening! What kind of-…"

"SHHH!"

Misty put her hand over his mouth and led him over to a small corner with some boxes. Two members of Team Aqua had come around the corner.

"Hey Jules, did you just hear something?"

"No I didn't you moron! You're probably hungry or something, and then you think you hear things. Will you ever learn to take care of yourself Jeff?"

The two of them passed by Ash and Misty without even noticing them. They got up and continued to walk down the never-ending tunnel. The two of them were whispering now.

"How could you be so careless Ash?" Misty asked with a mean tone.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I can't stand what is going on here."

Misty's expression turned into a soft smile. They continued to walk along the passage and then Misty motioned Ash and Pikachu to hide behind some more boxes. There was another door.

"Okay, this is the plan. I don't think that Archie knows that I'm not under his spell anymore so I'll go in and pretend like I still am."

"Misty, you can't! What if he knows and he does something to you?"

"I have to take that chance Ash. I'll distract him and then I'll motion for you to come in."

Ash and Pikachu nodded in agreement as they watched Misty take a deep breath and open the door. She looked at them one more time and headed into the laboratory. It looked like no one was in there, so she looked back out and gave Ash and Pikachu the thumbs up. When they got into the lab, Misty closed the door.

"Ash, somewhere in here are the keys to the cages. You need to find-…"

"What cages?"

Misty walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out a book. All of a sudden, one of the walls lifted up to reveal hundreds of cages with pokemon in them. Ash gasped as he saw all of the hurt pokemon's faces looking at him.

"You need to find the keys Ash, and keep a look out, you never know when-…"

Ash ducked down behind the counter as a door on the other side of the room opened. A tall man came in with two members of Team Aqua behind him. He looked at the cages and then he looked at Misty with a raised eyebrow.

"So…what do you think you are doing?" He said slyly.

"Nothing Boss. Just checking to see if the pokemon are becoming stronger, like you said they would."

He eyed her suspisouciouly.

"Without anyone else? Where's Rudy?"

"He went to go look for more pokemon," Misty said coolly.

Ash couldn't believe how well Misty's acting was. He himself almost believed her. The tall man came closer to her, but then changed his mind and went over to the cages. Misty kept still and didn't move a muscle. He looked back at her and smirked.

"These pokemon aren't even on the experiment yet! So how could you-…"

"I wasn't aware of that Boss. I was curious though to see how strong they were."

He eyed her closely from his position a few feet away.

"You know? You're right! A man like me, Archie! I should have thought of that! We should test their strength. Jeff! Jules!"

The two members came to attention.

"Yes Boss?"

"Set the pre-experiment into place! We need to weaken these pokemon!"

He laughed cruelly and Misty tried her hardest not to show any emotions. However, Ash couldn't help it. He jumped out of his hiding spot with Pikachu and yelled at the leader of Team Aqua.

"STOP IT NOW! You have no right to treat pokemon this way!"

Ash and Pikachu growled at him. Archie just laughed.

"Ash! NO!"

Misty quickly put her hands over her mouth as she realized that she had just given her position away to Archie. Archie stopped laughing and looked at the two of them deadly.

"Misty! How dare you! Going against me? Sneaking this rebel into our secret base? BUT HOW!"

His face was turning red and the members were assembling behind him to back him up.

"Your medallion was flawed Archie! I'm going to get you back for what you did to Misty!"

Archie laughed madly. "Silly pathetic human being! You, going against me? Archie, leader of Team Aqua? You don't stand a chance!"

"Oh yeah? You just watch!"

"Ash! No! You don't know what you're up against!" yelled Misty desperately trying to stop him.

"Pikachu! Thunder, now!"

"Piiiiikkkkaaaa-CHUUU!"

Jeff and Jules moved quickly in front of Archie and the attack hit them forcefully sending them flying out of the room. Archie gasped at the small pokemon's power and backed away a bit. He looked worried, but only for a second because just then he smirked and laughed.

"HAHAHA! That was a fun show! Now watch this!"

Ash braced himself and Misty clung to him, watching the whole thing from behind Ash's shoulder.

"Gardevoir! Come out!"

Misty's jaw dropped in terror as she knew what was coming next.

"Ash! Ash! We've got to get out of here! Now!"

"No Misty! We've got to get the pokemon!"

Out of the poke ball came Gardevoir and Ash took out his pokedex.

"Gardevoir. The evolved form of Kirlia and Ralts. Gardevoir has the ability to read the future. If it senses impending danger to its trainer, this pokemon is said to unleash its psychokinetic energy at full power." _Quote taken from Ruby version._

Archie pulled out another medallion and sneered at the two shocked facial expressions that stood before him. Misty realized what he was going to do and tried desperately to get Ash to leave.

"Ash! Come on! We've got to go before he hurts one of us!"

"Misty! Go! I don't want you to be here! It's too dangerous! Pikachu! Give it all you've got!"

But before Pikachu could do anything, Gardevoir stood in its trainers way, just like the pokedex said it would. Archie laughed and put the medallion on his pokemon. After a few seconds it was glowing and then it glided to Ash. In what seemed like less than a minutes time, Ash had went from on the top of his game, to the bottom.

Misty watched in horror as Ash struggled to keep Gardevoir's psychic power from possessing him. She had endured the same pain, but she knew that he would not be able to win. And she was right. Ash's face went blank and then suddenly he sneered at Misty. She took a few steps backward and put her hands to her face.

"No…" she whispered. "NO! Ash! You've got to fight it! Don't let him get to you!"

She didn't know what to do. She had no pokemon, Archie had Gardevoir, and Ash… Ash had Pikachu! She looked around the room to see what had happened to Pikachu. She finally spotted him lying on the ground. But then she remembered what had happened when Ash tried using Pikachu against her. She had to be careful.

"Archie! You can't win! Just watch, a Pokemon could do something, something like shock him."

He chuckled at her feeble attempt to scare him.

"You really think I'm going to fall for that?"

She was looking at Pikachu anxiously to see if he had understood her hint. He was still lying on the floor. It seemed as if the spell had not only worked on Ash, but it had hurt Pikachu as well.

Misty began to panic. She didn't know what else to do. Archie turned to Ash and Ash turned towards his new Boss.

"What would you like my first task to be?"

"Make that girl quiet. Get rid of her anyway you please."

He turned to Misty and walked towards her. He grabbed her by the arms and she tried to set herself free of his grip. He looked at her with the same evil in his eyes as Archie. She felt the coldness spread from his touch and Misty stopped trying to move. She knew she couldn't win. With Gardevoir's power, Ash was stronger than he normally would be. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Ash…Ash…please…don't do this…come back…"

Ash obeyed Archie's orders and put one of his hands over her mouth and he laughed at her struggle. The tears fell freely down her face. Archie saw that his job here was done.

"Gardevoir, let's go."

Archie was about to turn and leave the room, when suddenly Pikachu got up and shocked Gardevoir. At first it seemed that Pikachu was attacking him, but instead of that, Pikachu was communicating with it. Gardevoir looked from Pikachu to Misty and held its gaze on the struggling girl.

"Come on you stupid pokemon! Obey me!" yelled a red faced Archie.

Gardevoir stood firm and then put its arms up in the air. It concentrated itself by closing its eyes and from nowhere a purple mist filled the room. Misty couldn't breathe anymore and started to become faint. Slowly her eyes closed, and her body became limp. The purple mist reached Ash and the medallion was lifted off of him. It glided in the air and landed on a shocked Archie.

Ash became himself again and shook his head. He looked down at what he held in his hands. Misty lay limp and lifeless.

"Misty…What did I do?…No, its not possible…"

He fell to his knees with Misty still in his arms. He put his ear to her chest to see if there was still a heartbeat. After a few seconds, he heard it faintly and relief overcame him. But he had to do something quick. He cradled her in his arms as Gardevoir came to him. He looked up at the pokemon and watched as it bent over Misty's body. Gardevoir closed its eyes again and spread out its hands. A pink mist came this time and spread itself towards the sleeping girl. Pikachu came to Ash's side and looked on as the mist disappeared.

Ash's jaw dropped as he marveled at the pokemon. "Recover!…" Ash said faintly.

Gardevoir stood upright and nodded to Ash. Ash nodded back and looked worryingly at Misty. After a few seconds he could see her breathing, and then she began to open her eyes.

"Ash?…" she murmured gently.

"It's okay, I'm here."

She smiled and Ash helped her stand up.

"Hey Ash?" she asked teasingly, "why are your eyes so watery?"

"Um! Uh…" he quickly rubbed his eyes and came up with an excuse. "Allergies I guess…from Gardevoir's mist…"

"Right…" she smiled at him and he tried to hide his flushed cheeks.

"Hey Ash? What about Archie?"

They both turned around to see Archie dancing like an idiot in a circle. Ash, Misty and Pikachu all laughed at the leader of Team Aqua. Gardevoir had realized that its trainer was doing bad things and now it was controlling him. They went up to Gardevoir and stood with it.

"Thank you Gardevoir," said Misty.

The pokemon nodded and looked back at Archie. He froze with his leg up in the air and his hands on his behind. Gardevoir pointed to the cages and Archie bowed. He went to the pokemon and pushed a button. Poke balls appeared in the cages and each pokemon was recalled into it.

Gardevoir turned toward Ash and Misty and surprising the two of them, spoke. He handed Misty her bag.

"Here are your pokemon."

They gasped.

"Your talking!" said Misty astonishingly.

"It's using telepathy!" said Ash in awe.

"Yes I am. Because of your pokemon and your friend, I have realized the errors of the ways of my trainer. I will make sure that he returns every pokemon and restores them to health and their rightful trainers."

Ash and Misty smiled happily.

"Oh, and Misty, I think someone has missed you long enough."

Misty looked at the pokemon puzzled, but then she cried out in joy.

"TOGEPI! Thank you so much Gardevoir!"

"Togepriiii!"

Misty hugged her dear pokemon and Ash smiled.

"Thanks Gardevoir! We couldn't of done it without your help."

The pokemon said its goodbye and went to Archie occupying itself with the task at hand. Ash, Misty and Pikachu went through a secret door and they were back in the forest. It was close to dawn now, but it was still dark. Misty yawned and started to become sleepy. Seeing this, Ash too became sleepy and they stopped to lean next to a tree. As if on cue, the two slumped down and began to sleep. Pikachu lay in Ash's lap and Togepi in Misty's. She and Ash fell asleep side by side leaning on each others heads.

Drew was walking through the forest, not being able to sleep. He was walking along until he spotted a clearing. He was heading through it, when suddenly he heard a noise coming from a patch of bushes. Slowly, he approached cautiously. He peeked over the bushes expecting to find some kind of pokemon, but instead he found his rival curled up, sleeping on the ground. He rolled his eyes, and bent down to pick her up. They walked for about ten minutes when suddenly May stirred.

"Ahh…this is so comfy…and warm…"

She opened her eyes and looked right at Drew.

"AHHHHHHH!" she screamed but Drew put his hand over her mouth.

May looked at him angrily and then finally took his hand off of her mouth. He put her down and she scowled at his smile.

"What do you think you are doing? Huh? I WANT ANSWERS!"

He simply smiled at her, and spoke coolly.

"Why, I didn't want my rival to die sleeping in the forest. I mean, sure there are plenty more trainers out there more worthy than you, but it's just so fun seeing you lose."

He smirked and May growled at him, starting to yell.

"Who says I was going to die? And for your information I am worthy enough! You just watch! I'll beat you in every competition! I didn't need your help!"

He smiled again. "Fine. Then I'll leave."

Drew walked away and out of sight, leaving May in the dark, cold forest all by herself. She could do this! She didn't need his help. May started to hear noises and tried to cheer herself up by chuckling. Then she turned abruptly. She thought she had heard a rustling in the bushes.

"Drew?"

Nothing.

"DREW?"

All she heard was a slight breeze and it sent chills up her spine. She dashed away toward the direction where Drew had left, her eyes closed and arms wailing.

"DREWWWW! Umph!"

She had bumped into someone. Drew smiled down at her. Her arms were around him and she shut her eyes.

"I need your help! I'm sorry!"

"No problem."

He chuckled and that was when she realized what she was doing. She backed away quickly and she looked disgusted.

"Don't flatter yourself! I was just in a state of panic, that's all!"

"Okay…whatever."

He started walking and May looked away huffing. Who did he think he was anyway? She could take care of herself! She was thinking about Drew, when she realized that he had started walking away again. May started to run after him.

"Drew! Wait up!"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Well, this is most likely going to be the last chapter, so I encourage you to read the whole thing through, don't you want to find out what happens? Just to warn you, it's the longest one too!

Chapter 10

The sun was about to rise. Ash and Misty were still sleeping beside the tree when Misty woke up. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms out yawning. When she saw Ash sleeping peacefully right next to her, she couldn't help but smile. The sun was faintly shining through the trees and she could see the tranquility in his face. All of a sudden, as if snapping out of a dream, she realized that she was sleeping right next to him. She blushed, but she didn't have to hide it from anyone. Misty stood up and walked a few feet away to a grassy area. She lay down on the soft grass, and soon she was sleeping again.

Ash couldn't help it. He kept his eyes on Misty the whole time. She looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Ash? What is wrong with you? Why are you starring at me?" She warned with an angry tone in her voice.

"Uhhh…sorry…"

It was always like that. She would get so mad at him, and he would back away. There was something about her that he couldn't put his finger on, but he liked the feeling that he felt when she was with him, even if she was yelling her head off. He knew what he had to do. Today would be the day. He walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"What is it Ash?" she asked in an angelic tone.

"Misty…Misty I wanted to let you know that…"

He woke up with a start. His heart was beating at a thousand beats per second. Ash calmed down and sighed. It was dawn and the sun was rising steadily now. Misty was sleeping peacefully on the grass a few feet away from him. Smiling, he stood up and went over to the water pokemon trainer and knelt beside her. Her face was as docile as a baby's and from just looking at her, you wouldn't know the fiery spirit she contained inside. He stroked her soft hair and admired her.

Suddenly she began to stir and Ash jumped up quickly. Misty woke up and yawned.

"Rise and shine!" Ash said cheerfully.

Misty got up and looked at the boy curiously.

"Since when do you get up so early? If I recall, I was the one who was always waking you up."

She chuckled briefly remembering all of the fun she had waking up Ash in the morning. Ash however, seemed agitated at the memories.

"Well, I guess it was just luck then. But I'm disappointed that I did, because I've just been dying to be woken up by one of your schemes!"

"Pika Pikachu!"

Misty laughed with the pokemon, remembering all of the times she asked it to wake him up using thundershock. Ash's grin became a frown.

"Heyy…those thundershock's actually hurt!" He said defensively. "But I guess I got use to them… just like I got used to you."

Ash smiled and chuckled quietly. Misty did the same as she was shocked from what he said. They were quiet for a few seconds and then they spoke at the same time.

"So what are we going to do?"

"Are we going to do something?"

The two of them chuckled again and began to walk towards the campsite, side by side, with Pikachu resting on their shoulders, occasionally taking turns on which one to rest on. They started to reminisce about old times and they couldn't stop laughing.

Meanwhile, Drew and May were walking in silence, also headed toward the campsite. May was still mad about what Drew did. He should have never picked her up and taken her to who knows where. And yet…she felt so comfortable sleeping in his arms… WHAT WAS SHE SAYING? This was Drew; her rival. Besides, she was worried about Ash. Wait, but was she? She hadn't thought about him at all while she was with Drew… May shook her head and cleared her mind. She looked at Drew's wild green hair and his smile. It seemed like he was always smiling for some reason or another.

"Uhmm…May? Is something wrong with you?"

She snapped out of it in a second. She was walking right next to him, staring at his hair. May blushed but quickly retorted.

"Nothing is wrong with me! It's you who you should be worried about!"

"Me? What did I do?"

His smile was beginning to go away, and in its place was a smug look, just like May had on her face.

"You? You're always smiling! And it's so annoying!"

Secretly she didn't think so.

"Me? Smiling? Is what's bothering you?"

He burst into laughter right on the spot. May looked hopeless, trying to defend herself.

"Well yeah! No normal person smiles all the time!"

Drew stopped laughing at looked at her with a smirk on his face.

"Oh really? So now I'm not normal? I think you should be referring to yourself in that department. Who in their right mind stares at someone's hair? Mine to add to that."

"I'm perfectly normal! Something….was on your hair! And that's why I was looking at it…because it was so stupid looking!"

She huffed, crossed her arms, and looked away. Right away, Drew put his hands on his head and began to panic.

"What? There's something on my hair? No! My beautiful hair!"

May turned around to see him swaggering, trying to get whatever was on his head off of it. It was her turn to burst into tears, of laughter that is. Drew looked aggravated and walked up to the girl who was literally rolling on the floor, laughing. He grabbed her arm and she stood up.

"What is on my head?" he demanded.

May stifled her last laugh, and said, trying to be serious, "A…a…A MANKEY!"

She burst into laughter again, but Drew quickly got her attention again, and asked patiently and politely.

"May…could you please tell me what is on my head?"

"Why yes Drew! I would surely tell you! Here let me get it off for you!"

She dusted his hair like a mother would to her son and then she smiled cheerfully.

"There we go! All done! Now, you go be a good boy! And don't harass the girls!"

Drew quickly backed away from her. May chuckled to herself again, but quietly so that he couldn't hear her. He quickened his pace to get a few feet in front of her. If he had wanted to, he could have flown away on his Flygon a long time ago. Then why had he stayed here with that impossible girl? Maybe it was his duty as a guy to make sure the lady was all right. Maybe… She caught up to him and looked down at the ground. She had obviously hurt his feelings, because he wasn't smiling anymore.

"Drew…I'm sorry…"

"Yeah…whatever..." he mumbled back.

Drew was smiling again. May poked him in the ribs gently.

"You're smiling again…" she said teasingly.

"So what if I am?" he said in the same tone that she had spoken in.

"WELL, … why?" May asked shyly.

He chuckled and walked a few feet in front of her again.

"Drew! Wait for me!"

Brock was pacing back and forth in the campsite. Ash, Misty and May had went somewhere, but he had no clue where they could have gone, and to add to that, his poke balls were missing. He figured that he should just stay put, that they would all come back soon enough. Just as he was thinking this, Brock heard people arguing, and he looked up to see Misty and Ash coming out at one end of the forest, and May and Drew at the other. All of them were arguing.

"Well Ash! It's not my fault you tripped back there!"

"Oh yeah!" his voice was growing louder. "Your big mouth is what made me fall!"

"Ohhh noo! It was your lack in knowledge! Don't you know you're supposed to look where you are going? You could have really hurt yourself!" Misty screeched at him.

Brock looked at the other pair, who was doing more or so the same thing.

"You are so arrogant! You think I need your help and that I'm nothing but a weak little girl!"

"Who says I'M the arrogant one?"

They both stopped arguing because they were now staring at the two people who were coming out of the forest at the other end, laughing their heads off.

Drew and May looked at each other with blank stares. They walked over to Brock who was staring at Ash and Misty, bewilderment on his face.

"Umm...Brock, are they okay?"

They were slowly making their way over to the three staring faces. Finally, when they approached them, their laughter died down.

"IT'S A MIRACLE EVERYONE! THEY'VE FINALLY STOPPED ARGUING!" Brock exclaimed.

"Yeah Brock. We vowed to stop arguing for your sake, you know, because you're so special." Misty replied sarcastically.

Brock looked confused, but smiled again.

"Alright then! This calls for a celebration! Who wants some of Brock's…"

"Famous Rice Balls?" Misty finished his sentence for him.

"How'd you know?…" asked May quietly while the three friends laughed.

Brock turned to May and Drew who were just standing there, as if meeting their friends for the first time.

"Well what are you guys standing there for? Sit down and taste the Brilliance of Brock!"

He laughed to himself and then went to go start making the breakfast for the group. Brock had already set up a table for them so they all sat down. Misty, Ash and Pikachu on one side, and May with Drew on the other. Pikachu started running all around Misty, jumping up and down from her shoulder with the occasional hug from her. Togepi woke up and started to play along, waving its little hands excitedly.

"Pika-Pika Pi, Pika-chaaa!"

Misty smiled cheerfully at the pokemon and couldn't help but laugh.

"I know Pikachu, I remember…"

May gaped at her. What in the world was she talking about? She couldn't even understand what Pikachu was saying. How could Misty possibly understand him? That's when it hit her. All the time when Pikachu seemed so angry at her, it was because she was trying to be someone she wasn't; she was trying to be…

Misty started to laugh again as Ash put Pikachu on top of her head. She stood up and started doing a little dance routine with Pikachu on her head and Togepi in her arms. Ash started laughing and clapping along, while May watched aggravated. She still wanted to know what happened to her…HER POKEMON! She had completely forgotten about them! How could she? They were important to her after all…but maybe not enough to be her top priority if she forgot about them. She glanced at Drew who joined in the clapping. May couldn't take it anymore.

"GIVE ME BACK MY POKEMON, YOU CROOK!"

May leapt up in an angry rage, pointing her finger at the dancing trio, making Pikachu fall off an unbalanced Misty, into Ash's arms. Drew looked shocked at her outburst, while Ash stood up to defend Misty.

"May! How dare you say that about Misty?" Ash said angrily.

"What! But Ash! You saw her! She's evil! She's working for-…"

"Oh my gosh! May! I'm so extremely sorry! I was so wrapped up in being back to myself, that I completely forgot to give you your pokemon back!"

Misty reached into her bag and pulled out three poke balls and handed them to her. May accepted the pokemon reluctantly, remembering Misty's warning.

"You didn't do anything to them, did you?"

"Oh no! We got there in time! We wouldn't let anything happen to the pokemon."

Misty looked at Ash and they smiled at one another. This just got May more upset. She was totally clueless, and Misty seemed like she had changed into a sweetheart over night. Drew got up, feeling left out because he was the only one sitting down.

"What do you mean-…"

"Wow! You stole her pokemon, but gave them back? You're like a good girl with a bad side!"

Drew interrupted looking at Misty with some awe in his emerald eyes. May turned on him with glaring eyes. She punched him on the shoulder, but not hard enough to actually hurt him.

"Hey! Oww…that hurt!"

Brock returned with six bowls of rice balls and soy sauce. He put the bowls down, eyeing everyone suspiciously.

"Uh…did I miss something?"

"Hey Brock, I'm sorry for taking your pokemon. Here you go."

Misty presented him with his pokemon and he sweat dropped.

"My pokemon! You took them? But Misty! How could you?" He looked mad. At least someone was mad at Ms. Sweetheart, May thought.

"Okay…okay! That's enough everyone! Just sit down and stop picking on Misty. We will tell you the entire story."

Brock, May and Drew listened intently while eating their breakfast. Occasionally, one of their jaws dropped at hearing Misty explain things such as the medallion. May's spirit was sunk when she heard that Misty hadn't really been herself. It even sunk more when Misty kept apologizing over and over again to her for how rude 'she' had been. No wonder Ash had liked Misty so much. She was so kind and loving. Something May would have to take notes on. So her crush was crushed as she realized she never had a chance to be with Ash. However, that didn't really matter, because the more time she spent with Drew, the more she got used to him; his smiley attitude and that deadly combination of green hair and emerald eyes. Misty had finished her story and everyone gave her the sympathy that they felt for her.

"Wow Misty, I'm really sorry to hear the pain you went through. Sorry I was mean to you before," said Brock.

"Oh…no problem Brock, I totally understand."

"Yeah, I don't know you very well, but I'm sorry you had to go through that," Drew chipped in.

"I agree…sorry…" said May.

"Thanks you guys, for being so understanding."

"Well it's good that your back!" said Brock happily.

They all smiled and finished their breakfast. May and Drew went by the lake, while Ash, Brock, Pikachu and Misty caught up on old times. A few minutes passed by and the peaceful lake breeze was cut off by someone yelling. They looked at the lake to see May and Drew fighting.

"My Skitty could beat your Roselia any day!" yelled an angry May.

"Well, seeing as you're such an amateur coordinator, you wouldn't know that I could beat you with a single attack!" Drew smirked as he finished retorting.

May growled at him in fury, while Drew smiled at her. He knew that would always tick her off. His oh so irresistible smile, and he knew that she couldn't resist it. That was the reason she was always so angry with him, or so he thought.

"Wow, they sound awfully familiar!" said Brock looking at Ash and Misty.

They looked at each other and laughed. But their laughter was cut short when Brock added sarcastically, "_Don't they?_"

Ash and Misty looked away from each other, each of them blushing. Misty looked back at Brock and regained her composure.

"Well yeah… they are just like Ash and I a couple of years ago. Nothing wrong with that."

"Okay…whatever you say…" said Brock, focusing back on the fight between the young pair of coordinators.

He stood up and walked over to them.

"Well, well! Nothing to say now May?"

She was starting whack him on his head, but Brock stopped her.

"Guys! Guys! Stop! There is a perfect way to resolve this! In a perfectly calm manor."

May calmed down a bit and crossed her arms.

"Well, how?"

"You two have a pokemon battle."

Drew smirked as the joy of seeing his rival lose would soon come.

"What do you say May? Ready to lose?"

"Oh no! I'm ready to win, maybe you should brace yourself."

"Ha. Right. Okay then. Roselia! GO!"

"Skitty! I choose you!"

The two pokemon came out and the two trainers faced each other with confidence. Drew was overconfident; maybe that's why he lost.

"GO! Skitty! Use Blizzard!"

A blast of cold air and snow shot out of Skitty's mouth, hitting Roselia with full power.

"Roselia! NO!"

He bent down to pick up the fainted pokemon.

"It's okay…you did your best…"

May danced around with her Skitty.

"Yay! We won! Haha! Take that Drew! Who's the amateur now? Skitty! Great job! Return!"

"Yeehhh!" and with that Skitty was back in its poke ball.

May hadn't received a remark from Drew and that's when she saw him. She went to him hurriedly, and knelt beside him with a worried look on her face.

"Drew…is Roselia okay?"

"That was a really… powerful attack…I should have known that Skitty was full of surprises."

May was shocked when he looked up at her, with yet another smile on his face. He took out a potion from his bag and sprayed it on his pokemon. Drew called Roselia back in her poke ball and they stood up.

"Why are you smile-…" she asked furiously.

"I take back what I said May. You're an amazing Pokemon Coordinator."

She sweat dropped. "What?"

"Yeah, knowing that Ice attacks have the advantage over Grass type attacks, and then, using a powerful attack like Blizzard quickly as your first move…You shock me May… There's always a surprise around the corner with you…"

She blushed at his compliment and at his gorgeous smile. May tried to hide it so that he wouldn't see.

"Uh…thanks Drew…you're really good too."

"Well I guess that we will have to learn from one another."

He gave her a really cheerful smile and she went nuts. The only way to hide it was to yell at him.

"STOP SMILING! IT'S SO ANNOYING!"

"Why? Because it takes your breath away?"

May glared at him. Obviously he had ticked something inside her off.

"Yeah! It takes my breath away…" she said dreamily.

"Ha! I knew it! You couldn't resist my charm!" Drew commented gleefully.

"It takes my breath away…and then I suffocate BECAUSE I CAN'T BREATHE!"

She walked away leaving him standing there with his jaw dropped down to the ground in shock. He was wrong. He truly did annoy her. He felt like a boat just crashed into him. Drew regained his confidence and walked up to May.

"Uh…May?"

"Yeah? What is it?" obviously annoyed.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I've been…well… a jerk… and I wanted to make up for it."

May couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Okay…go on…"

"Well I was thinking…maybe…could I join you guys on your adventure?"

She was shocked beyond belief. Drew? 24/7? It was repulsing…it was terrifying…it was…a dream come true.

"You see…traveling by myself can get lonely…and well you're the only friend I've got…"

"Oh Drew…of course you can!"

May had to add something quick. She sounded way too desperate. Drew looked up at her happily, but soon frowned.

"On one condition!"

"Yeah?"

"You have to be nice to me! And don't call me 'weak' or 'an amateur'. So do we have a deal?"

He smiled at her, his eyes shining with happiness.

"Deal."

Ash and Misty spent the afternoon catching up on things, and it seemed like they couldn't stop laughing or smiling. They walked around the lake, and through the forest with their pokemon, and then they stopped near a hill that had the path leading toward Lilycove City on it. Ash said he had to do something and that he would be back in a bit. Misty agreed and sat near the lake. Her blue jacket and orange hair flowed gently with the breeze, while she pulled her legs close into her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She didn't want this day to end, ever. Suddenly her Poke Nav rang.

"Hey Misty! It's Rudy! Are you feeling better? I know I am! Everything is back to normal here, and I told Officer Jenny all about Team Aqua's plan. Seems like you stopped them! Well, anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I'll be waiting for you by a hill near town. The ferry is going to leave in a couple of hours. I'll see you then!"

The screen went blank and her heart sunk to the ground. Ash came back from the forest smiling cheerfully, when he saw a depressed Misty sitting by the lake. He went up to her quietly and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Misty…what's wrong?"

Ash stepped back immediately as Misty sprang up from the ground and ran away. He had no clue what was going on, but he intended to find out. Ash ran after her, screaming for her to come back.

"MISTY! COME BACK!"

He finally reached her at the top of the hill. From there he could see Lilycove City and the ocean that it was known for. Then he saw it; a ferry. He got a sinking feeling, as he feared the worst. Ash stood next to Misty, and they both looked at the horizon. Misty spoke without turning her head towards him.

"Ash…I…I have to leave…on the ferry…"

The sinking feeling hit his stomach hard and he tried to remain calm.

"But…why? You just got back…"

"I know…I'm sorry…but we still have another hour or so until my ride gets here…"

They were both silent, as they watched the sun stoop slowly lower as it would set soon…in another hour or so… The silence was interrupted suddenly as the two jumped at the sight of the car coming up onto the top of the hill. The driver beeped the car horn twice and then a man got out from the back of the car. He was tall, and handsome. His maroon hair hung perfectly on his head, groomed to perfection. It was Rudy.

"Hey Ash!"

Rudy walked up the short distance and put his arm around Misty's shoulder. She looked a bit uncomfortable but his arm stayed put. Ash's blood boiled, but he remained nice and friendly.

"…Hi Rudy…" Ash said without any expression in his voice.

"Well Misty and I are going to be off to the Ferry! We had so much fun last time! Didn't we Mist?"

She chuckled half heartedly as she watched Ash. He seemed to be taking all of this pretty well. But inside he wasn't. Had Rudy just called her Mist? But how could Rudy know her that well? Did she have all the fun that Rudy had said they had?

"Well Misty, I'll be waiting in the car! Don't be too long!"

Rudy left her side, and walked back to the car. Misty stood there awkwardly with her best friend. She would have to say good-bye, again.

"Well…I guess this is good-bye then…" said Misty quietly.

Ash cleared his throat and replied, forcing himself to smile.

"Yeah…I guess so…uh…good luck with the gym and all!"

She forced herself to smile, but rolled her eyes at the sound of the car horn.

"Bye Ash…"

She turned around after giving him one last smile.

"Bye Misty…"

She hadn't taken two steps when he remembered something.

"Misty! Wait!"

She spun around quickly, wanting every chance to see him.

"Yeah?" Misty said expectantly.

"I…uh…have something for you…"

Ash pulled a bag out of the pocket in his sleeveless sweater and handed it to Misty. She was about to look inside, when he stopped her.

"No! Don't look at it now!"

Misty looked at him confusingly. "Why not?" She chuckled, this time for real.

"Well…I just don't want you to see it now…Promise me that you'll open it on the Ferry."

He looked serious so she agreed. The driver beeped at her again and this time Rudy's head poked out of the back window.

"Misty! Come ON! We're going to be late!"

She sighed and smiled at Ash for the last time. He watched as she got into the car and it sped away down the hill. He stood there, not moving for a long time…

"Misty, Misty, Misty! Wasn't that some adventure or what?"

Rudy smiled at her, as she forced herself to chuckle. Misty looked away toward the window and stared at the passing scenery. Rudy was thrilled with the situation at hand. Misty had finally left Ash…and to be with HIM! He couldn't help himself. Rudy put his arm around her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. Rudy frowned but tried again. This time she shrugged it off, and then glared at him.

"Whoa! What's wrong? I thought we were friends!"

She roared at him.

"FRIENDS? IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL FRIENDSHIP?"

Then it hit her. Friendship. If she looked in a dictionary, a picture of her and Ash would be placed next to the word. So, then what was she doing with this jerk?

"Chill out Mist! Don't have a heart attack!"

"DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME THAT! DRIVER, STOP THE CAR!"

The car came to a sudden halt and Rudy hit his head on the seat in front of him. He rubbed the bruise that was growing on his head and glared back at Misty.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"GET OUT!"

"WHAT?"

"I said, GET OUT! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"

Rudy stared at her, shocked at her statement. He didn't have a choice. The driver obeyed Misty's order and took Rudy out of the car. Misty sighed with relief as they drove away, leaving Rudy on the side of the road. She couldn't believe that she had let a jerk like that be anywhere near her. Ash was so much more…than Rudy would have ever been. Ash! She had just remembered the present that he had given her. She had promised not to look at it, but she couldn't resist. Misty looked in the bag and saw a small box with a card attached to it.

'Misty- We've been friends since before I can remember. I never want you to forget anything that we've been through and I want you to know that you can always count on me. This is just a little reminder of our friendship. Hope you like it!- Ash'

She opened the box and tears fell from her eyes. There in front of her was the most beautiful charm bracelet she had ever seen. The charms were on the silver bracelet already and through her tears, she managed to smile and laugh. Ash had picked out Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pikachu, Togepi, Staryu and Starmie charms to signify their first year together while he was training in the Kanto region. Misty put the bracelet on her left wrist and looked at it with a smile, while she wiped away her tears.

"Oh Ash…" she sighed.

Misty was about to put the bag away when she noticed something else in it. There was another, smaller box, this time with no note attached. Something about it just made her want to tear it open, but she opened the box carefully; it was in fact a small box, so something fragile must have been inside of it. The lid came off and she gasped in awe. A silver locket, to match the bracelet, was sitting there, cupped in her hands. It shined brilliantly against the rays of the setting sun; nothing could have been more stunning. Again, she felt an urge to do something more with the present, but what? Of course! She should open it! Wasn't that what lockets were for? Maybe Ash put something inside of it…

Misty opened up the small locket, and she froze.

'I love you- Ash' 

…

Ash was sitting on the hill watching the sun set on the horizon. He kept eyeing the ferry, until finally it left his sight.

"Well Pikachu…I guess she's gone…"

"Pi-Pika-Pikachu!"

"I know…but I couldn't just tell her! Then she would never go back…she'd probably feel obliged to be with me and not Rudy. They seemed happy, and I didn't want to ruin that."

He scratched his buddy's ears and Pikachu smiled in delight. This made Ash somewhat happier. Ash stood up, and was about to leave, when he realized that he didn't have his hat.

"Pikachu? Did you see my hat anywhere?"

"Pi!"

Pikachu ran off somewhere, but Ash didn't bother to follow him, trusting the pokemon to find his way back. The sun was almost out of sight. It was growing dark, and he started to wonder where Pikachu was. Sighing, he decided to go find Pikachu, when something caught his eyes. Something in the distance was shining, but it was so small that he didn't know what it was. The light was coming closer and closer, becoming larger and familiar. It was the car that had come to take Misty away just an hour ago. Someone got out of the car and started to run towards him. He didn't know what he should do; he could run away, or he could stay and get run down by who ever it was.

"ASH KETCHUM! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"

It was Misty. Ash sweat dropped.

"He he…Misty…you're back…so soon?"

"YES! THANKS TO MY CURIOUSITY! DID YOU SERIOUSLY THINK YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH IT?"

She was scaring him. What in the world was she talking about? Then all of a sudden he realized that she was wearing the bracelet. She became calm suddenly and Misty smiled at the black haired boy.

"Letting me go…that took some nerve Ash Ketchum…"

Misty smiled and pulled out the locket from under her tank top so that it was now visible to him. Ash smiled too as he began to fully understand what she meant.

"You opened it! I told you not to…not until…" he said accusingly, and then he gasped.

"Misty! You missed the ferry!"

"Of course I did! How could I go and leave you?" she said teasingly.

"But…what about?"

"Rudy is history… and as for the gym, it's not fair for my sisters to keep doing this to me… it's time they grew up and became adults…"

"Misty… what are you saying?"

She stepped closer to him and looked straight into his eyes. She felt his warmth overcome him, and he felt the same.

"Ash…"

She whispered to him as the warm night breeze ruffled their hair. Ash leaned in close to her and he took her in his arms. The moment finally came, and their lips met each other in a warm embrace that seemed to last forever.

"Misty…I love you, you know…"

She smiled at him.

"I know…"

Just then Pikachu jumped up on Ash's shoulder with his hat in his mouth.

"Pika Pikachu!"

Misty and Ash laughed at the little yellow mouse as Misty took the hat and put it on his head, backwards that is.

"Hey Pikachu! Looks like Misty is going to stay with us-for good this time!"

"Pika-chaaa!"

Ash and Misty smiled at each other. He put his arm around her shoulder as they walked under the stars, back to go find their friends. Misty closed her eyes and leaned her head on Ash's shoulder, sighing with joy. It was the perfect end to the day that she wished would never end. Ash looked down at her, and he smiled, happiness finally in his heart.

**A/N:** Well I hope everyone liked it! PLEASE review, and tell me if you think it should end here or not… maybe a sequel or something? I'll have to think about it…

**EDIT! **I HAVE made a sequel to this, and it's called, _Broken Memories_… the link is in my profile… if you're interested!


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